PARKMAN'S    WORKS. 

-o^w 

The  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World. 

(I.  Huguenots  in  Florida.     II.     Samuel  de  Champlain.)     Fifth  Edition.     Small  Svo.      Cloth,  $2.50;  half 

calf,  $4-50. 

In  vigor  and  pointedness  of  description,  Mr.  Parkman  may  be  counted  superior  to  Irving.  —  New 
'  York  Tribune'-  _    , 

■  It  is  a  narrative  which  has  all  the  animation,  variety,  and  interest  of  a  romance,  and  to  most  readers  it 
will  be  as  fresh  and  novel  as  a  pure  creation  of  the  imaginative  faculty.  — New  York  World. 

Ill  interest  this  work  exceeds  any  novel  which  has  been  published  during  the  year.  Every  page  bears 
unmistakable  impress  of  power,  — power  of  patient  investigation,  power  of  dramatic  conception,  power  of 
philosophic  thought,  power  of  pictorial  diction.  —  Boston  transcript. 

One  of  the  very  finest  contributions  to  the  historical  literature  of  this  country.  —  Providence  (R.  I.) 
Press. 

The  Jesuits  in  North  America  in  the  Seventeenth  Century. 

Fourth  Edition.     Small  Svo.     Cloth,  $2.50  ;  half  calf,  $4-50. 

We  feel  that  he  is  for  us  a  faithful  and  competent  interpreter  and  commentator  of  Indian  life,  manners, 
superstitions,  and  fortunes.  He  has  a  marvellous  skill  in  observing  and  describing  the  phenomena  of 
nature,  — the  features  and  scenes  of  the  wilderness  amid  which  they  roved.  We  know  of  no  writer  whose 
pages  are  so  real  and  vivid  in  qualities  harmonizing  with  his  theme,  as  are  his.  — Atlantic  Monthly. 

Parkman's  work  is  as  fascinating  as  the  best  of  Scott's  novels.  Once  commenced,  you  cannot  lay  the 
book  down :  you  will  read  every  line  of  it.  —  Boston  Pilot. 

The  Discovery  of  the  Great  West. 

Third   Edition.      Small   Svo.      Cloth,   $2.50;    half  calf,   #4.50. 

This  volume  embodies  the  exploits  and  adventures  of  the  first  European  explorers  of  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  ;  the  efforts  of  the  French  to  secure  the  whole  interior  of  the  continent  ;  the  attempt  of  La 
Salle  to  find  a  westward  passage  to  India  ;  his  colony  on  the  Illinois;  his  scheme  of  invading  Mexico  ;  his 
contest  with  the  Jesuits,  and  his  assas>ination  by  his  own  followers-  The  narrative  is  founded  entirely  on 
contemporary  documents,  including  many  unpublished  letters  and  journals  of  the  chief  explorers,  which. 
for  the  first  time,  place  in  a  clear  light  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  striking  portions  of  American 
History. 

A  subject  which  Mr.  Parkman  has  made  as  much  his  own  as  Motley  the  Dutch  Republic,  or  Macaulay 
the  English  Revolution.  He  is  thorough  master  of  his  material,  which  is  much'  scattered,  and  exists 
largely  in  manuscript ;  and'his  imagination,  his  picturesque  narrative  style,  and  his  admirable  perception 
of  the  true  point  of  interest  give  to  his  historical  works  a  wonderful  charm  and  symmetry.  It  is  to  the 
pages  of  Mr.  Parkman  that  we  must  go  for  the  American  Indian.  Cooper  so  bewitches  our  young  fancies 
with  Uncas  and  the  red  heroes  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  divest  our  estimate  of  the  Indian  of  a  false  and 
foolish  glamour.  Mr.  Parkman,  however,  knows  him  by  personal  experience  and  long  and  thoughtful 
study.  —  George  IV.  Cnrtis. 

The  Old  Regime  in  Canada  under  Louis  XIV. 

Fourth  Edition.     Small  Svo.     Cloth,  $2.50;  half  calf,  $4.50. 

The  author  here  presents  the  results  of  his  researches  into  the  early  history  of  Canada  under  French 
rule,  including  in  his  view  the  century  bounded  by  1653  and  1753.  He  has-had  access  to  a  mass  of  State 
papers  in  the  archives  of  France  which  have  never  before  been  drawn  upon,  and  with  the  material  thus 
derived  has  wrought  an  historical  fabric  at  once  substantial  and  fascinating.  The  influences  which  con- 
trolled the  colony" in  its  beginning,  and  during  its  first  century  of  life,  —  the  Roman  Catholic  mission  spirit, 
and  the  monarchical  ambition  of  Louis  XIV.,  —  are  delineated  in  character  and  operation  with  remarkable 
skill;  and  the  extracts  from  the  voluminous  official  correspondence  maintained  between  France  and  Can- 
ada lend  a  singular  and  delightful  piquancy  to  the  narrative. 

In  this  volume  Mr.  Parkman  details  intelligently  and  in  a  symmetrical  and  impressive  narrative  the 
efforts  of  French  Monarchy  and  the  Church  of  Rome  to  grasp  the  Continent  of  North  America.  He  has 
chosen  a  peculiar  but  very  effective  method  to  this  end-  Instead  of  discoursing  at  length  of  state-craft  and 
.church-craft,  and  overwhelming  the  reader  with  dry  documents  and  historical  lore,  he  invites  him  to  look 
upon  a  series  of  scenes  in  the  early  life  of  Canada,  in  which  that  life  is  set  forth  with  marvellous  vividness 
and  realism.  But  in  him  the  historian  always  controls  the  painter;  and,  amid  the  fascination  of  these 
pictures,  he  never  loses  sight  of  the  two  forces  the  history  of  whose  operation  is  the  history  of  Canada,  — 
the  spirit  of  monarchy,  ancl  the  spirit  of  Roman  Catholic  missions.  —  The  Literary  World. 

The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  and  the  Indian  War  after  the  Con- 
quest of  Canada. 

New  Edition.     2  vols.     Small  Svo.     Cloth,  $5.00 ;  half  calf,  $9.00. 

An  admirable  production.  Combining  thoroughness  of  research  with  a  picturesque  beauty  of  expres- 
sion, it  presents  a  fascinating  narrative  of  one  of  the  most  pregnant  episodes  in  American  history.  —  West- 
minster Review. 

Mr.  Parkman's  "  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac"  takes  rank,  among  competent  judges,  as  the  most  satisfac- 
tory historical  monograph  that  our  literature  has  produced.  —  The  Nation,  New  York. 

The  Oregon  Trail.— Sketches  of  Prairie  and  Rocky  Mountain  Life. 

Fourtli  Edition,  revised.     Small  Svo.     Cloth,  $2.50  ;  half  calf,  $4-5°- 
The  sketches  of  which  this  volume  is  made  up  were  originally  published  in  1S47.     They  comprise  a 
record  of  the  summer  adventures  of  two  young  men  just  out  of  college,  and  preserve  the  features  of  a  state 
of  nature  and  society  which  has  vanished  for  ever.     No  more  graphic  pictures  of  life  on  the  frontier  and  in 
the  wilderness  thirty  years  ago  have  ever  been  drawn. 

For  the  present,  we  must  only  praise  this  delightful  book  for  its  absolute  good  qualities,  for  the  unfail- 
ing interest  of  the  narrative,  for  the  vivid  pictures  of  such  Indian  life  as  rarely  reveals  itself  to  white  men, 
for  all  its  stories  of  the  hunt  and  march  and  camp,  for  the  calm  observation  brought  to  all  these  wide 
scenes  and  primitive  personalities.  — Atlantic  Monthly. 


Webster  Fa* 

Medicine 

CummipQ 

.uicineat 

Tufts  Univ. 

200Westbv 

North  Grafton,  MA  01 536 

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^^r/^^^tJ 


0afele*>  Jt"^/ *?/ 


FBANCE  AND  ENGLAND 


NORTH  AMERICA. 


A    SERIES    OF    HISTORICAL    NARRATIVES. 


BY 

FRANCIS   PARKMAN, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "  HISTORY  OF  THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  PONTIAC,"  THE 
"OREGON  TRAIL,"  "THE  OLD  REGIME  IN  CANADA,"  ETC. 


PART   FIFTH. 


BOSTON: 
LITTLE,   BROWN,   &    COMPANY. 

1877. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1877,  by 

FRANCIS   PARKMAN, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


CAMBRIDGE  : 
PRESS   OF   JOHN   WILSON   AND    SON. 


COUNT  FRONTENAC 


AND 


NEW     FRANCE 


UNDER   LOUIS   XIV. 


BY 

FRANCIS    PARKMAN, 

AUTHOR  OF   "  PIONEERS  OF  FRANCE  IN  THE  NEW  WORLD,"   "  THE    JESUITS 

IN  NORTH  AMERICA,"    "  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE   GREAT   WEST," 

AND    "THE    OLD    REGIME    IN    CANADA." 


BOSTON: 
LITTLE,   BROWN,   &    COMPANY. 

1877. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1877,  by 

FRANCIS   PARKMAN, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  "Washington. 


PREFACE. 


The  events  recounted  in  this  book  group  them- 
selves in  the  main  about  a  single  figure,  that  of 
Count  Frontenac,  the  most  remarkable  man  who 
ever  represented  the  crown  of  France  in  the  New 
World.  From  strangely  unpromising  beginnings, 
he  grew  with  every  emergency,  and  rose  equal 
to  every  crisis.  His  whole  career  was  one  of 
conflict,  sometimes  petty  and  personal,  sometimes 
of  momentous  consequence,  involving  the  ques- 
tion of  national  ascendency  on  this  continent. 
Now  that  this  question  is  put  at  rest  for  ever,  it 
is  hard  to  conceive  the  anxiety  which  it  wakened 
in  our  forefathers.  But  for  one  rooted  error  of 
French  policy,  the  future  of  the  English-speaking 
races  in  America  would  have  been  more  than 
endangered. 

Under  the  rule  of  Frontenac  occurred  the  first 
serious  collision  of  the  rival  powers,  and  the 
opening  of  the  grand  scheme  of  military  occu- 
pation by  which  France  strove  to  envelop  and 
hold  in  check  the  industrial   populations  of   the 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

English  colonies.  It  was  he  who  made  that 
scheme    possible. 

In  "The  Old  Regime  in  Canada,"  I  tried  to 
show  from  what  inherent  causes  this  wilderness 
empire  of  the  Great  Monarch  fell  at  last  before 
a  foe,  superior  indeed  in  numbers,  but  lacking  all 
the  forces  that  belong  to  a  system  of  civil  and 
military  centralization.  The  present  volume  will 
show  how  valiantly,  and  for  a  time  how  success- 
fully, New  France  battled  against  a  fate  which 
her  own  organic  fault  made  inevitable.  Her 
history  is  a  great  and  significant  drama,  enacted 
among  untamed  forests,  with  a  distant  gleam  of 
courtly  splendors  and  the  regal  pomp  of  Ver- 
sailles. 

The  authorities  on  which  the  book  rests  are 
drawn  chiefly  from  the  manuscript  collections  of 
the  French  government  in  the  Archives  Nation- 
ales,  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  and,  above  all, 
the  vast  repositories  of  the  Archives  of  the 
Marine  and  Colonies.  Others  are  from  Cana- 
dian and  American  sources.  I  have,  besides, 
availed  myself  of  the  collection  of  French,  Eng- 
lish, and  Dutch  documents  published  by  the 
State  of  New  York,  under  the  excellent  editor- 
ship of  Dr.  O'Callaghan,  and  of  the  manuscript 
collections  made  in  France  by  the  governments 
of  Canada  and  of  Massachusetts.  A  considerable 
number  of  books,  contemporary  or  nearly  so  with 


PREFACE.  IX 

the  events  described,  also  help  to  throw  light 
upon  them  ;  and  these  have  all  been  examined. 
The  citations  in  the  margins  represent  but  a 
small    part  of    the   authorities  consulted. 

This  mass  of  material  has  been  studied  with 
extreme  care,  and  peculiar  pains  have  been  taken 
to  secure  accuracy  of  statement.  In  the  preface 
of  "The  Old  Regime,"  I  wrote:  "Some  of  the 
results  here  reached  are  of  a  character  which  I 
regret,  since  they  cannot  be  agreeable  to  persons 
for  whom  I  have  a  very  cordial  regard.  The 
conclusions  drawn  from  the  facts  may  be  matter 
of  opinion  :  but  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
facts  themselves  can  be  overthrown  only  by  over- 
throwing the  evidence  on  which  they  rest,  or 
bringing  forward  counter-evidence  of  equal  or 
greater  strength ;  and  neither  task  will  be  found 
an  easy  one." 

The  invitation  implied  in  these  wrords  has  not 
been  accepted.  "  The  Old  Regime  "  was  met  by 
vehement  protest  in  some  quarters ;  but,  so  far 
as  I  know,  none  of  the  statements  of  fact  con- 
tained in  it  have  been  attacked  by  evidence,  or 
even  challenged.  The  lines  just  quoted  are 
equally  applicable  to  this  volume.  Should  there 
be  occasion,  a  collection  of  documentary  proofs 
will  be  published  more  than  sufficient  to  make 
good  the  positions  taken.  Meanwhile,  it  will,  I 
think,  be    clear  to   an  impartial    reader  that  the 


X  PREFACE. 

story  is  told,  not  in  the  interest  of  any  race 
or  nationality,  but  simply  in  that  of  historical 
truth. 

When,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  I  formed  the 
purpose  of  writing  on  French-American  history, 
I  meant  at  first  to  limit  myself  to  the  great 
contest  which  brought  that  history  to  a  close. 
It  was  by  an  afterthought  that  the  plan  was  ex- 
tended to  cover  the  whole  field,  so  that  the  part 
of  the  work,  or  series  of  works,  first  conceived, 
would,  following  the  sequence  of  events,  be  the 
last  executed.  As  soon  as  the  original  scheme 
was  formed,  I  began  to  j^repare  for  executing 
it  by  examining  localities,  journeying  in  forests, 
visiting  Indian  tribes,  and  collecting  materials. 
I  have  continued  to  collect  them  ever  since,  so 
that  the  accumulation  is  now  rather  formidable ; 
and,  if  it  is  to  be  used  at  all,  it  had  better  be 
used  at  once.  Therefore,  passing  over  for  the 
present  an  intervening  period  of  less  decisive 
importance,  I  propose  to  take,  as  the  next  sub- 
ject of  this  series,  "  Montcalm  and  the  Fall  of 
New  France." 

Bostox,  1  Jan.,  1877. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
1620-1672. 

COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC. 

Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  and  Madame  de  Frontenac. — Or- 
leans.—  The  Mare'chale  de  Camp. — Count  Frontenac. — Con- 
jugal Disputes.  —  Early  Life  of  Frontenac.  —  His  Courtship  and 
Marriage.  —  Estrangement.  —  Scenes  at  St.  Fargeau.  —  The 
Lady  of  Honor  dismissed. — Frontenac  as  a  Soldier.  —  He  is 
made  Governor  of  New  France.  —  Les  Divines 1 


CHAPTER  II. 

1672-1675. 

FRONTENAC    AT    QUEBEC. 

Arrival.  —  Bright  Prospects.  —  The  Three  Estates  of  Xew  France. 
—  Speech  of  the  Governor.  —  His  Innovations.  —  Royal  Dis- 
pleasure. —  Signs  of  Storm.  —  Frontenac  and  the  Priests.  — 
His  Attempts  to  civilize  the  Indians.  — Opposition. —  Complaints 
and  Heart-burnings 14 

CHAPTER  in. 
1673-1675. 

FRONTENAC   AND   PERROT. 

La  Salle. — Fort  Frontenac.  —  Perrot.  —  His  Speculations. — His 
Tyranny.  —  The  Bush-rangers.  —  Perrot  revolts.  —  Becomes 
alarmed.  —  Dilemma  of  Frontenac. — Mediation  of  Fe'nelon. — 
Perrot  in  Prison.  —  Excitement  of  the  Sulpitians.  —  Indignation 
of  Fenelon.  —  Passion  of  Frontenac.  —  Perrot  on  Trial.  —  Strange 
Scenes.  —  Appeal  to  the  King. — Answers  of  Louis  XIV.  and 
Colbert.  —  Fe'nelon  rebuked 26 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1675-1682. 

FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEATJ. 

Frontenac  receives  a  Colleague. — He  opposes  the  Clergy.  —  Dis- 
putes in  the  Council.  —  Royal  Intervention. — Frontenac  re- 
buked.  —  Fresh  Outbreaks.  —  Charges  and  Countercharges. — 
The  Dispute  grows  hot. — Duchesneau  condemned  and  Fronte- 
nac warned.  —  The  Quarrel  continues.  —  The  King  loses  Pa- 
tience.—  More  Accusations. — Factions  and  Feuds.  —  A  Side 
Quarrel.  —  The  King  threatens.  —  Frontenac  denounces  the 
Priests.  —  The  Governor  and  the  Intendant  recalled.  —  Quali- 
ties of  Frontenac 44 


CHAPTER  V. 

1682-1684. 

LE    FEBVRE   DE   LA   BARRE. 

His  Arrival  at  Quebec— The  Great  Fire.  —  A  Coming  Storm.  — 
Iroquois  Policy.  —  The  Danger  imminent. — Indian  Allies  of 
France.  — Frontenac  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Boasts  of  La  Barre.  — 
His  Past  Life.  —  His  Speculations.  —  He  takes  Alarm.  —  His 
Dealings  with  the  Iroquois.  —  His  Illegal  Trade.  —  His  Col- 
league denounces  him.  —  Fruits  of  his  Schemes.  —  His  Anger 
and  his  Fears 72 


CHAPTER  VI. 
1684. 

LA   BARRE    AND    THE    IROQUOIS. 

Dongan.  —  New  York  and  its  Indian  Neighbors.  —  The  Rival  Gov- 
ernors.—  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois. — Mission  to  Onondaga. — 
An  Iroquois  Politician.  —  Warnings  of  Lamberville. —  Iroquois 
Boldness. —La  Barre  takes  the  Field.— His  Motives.  — The 
March.  — Pestilence.  — Council  at  La  Famine.  —  The  Iroquois 
defiant.  —  Humiliation  of  La  Barre.  —  The  Indian  Allies. — 
Their  Rage  and  Disappointment.  —  Recall  of  La  Barre     ...      80 


CONTENTS.  xiii 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1685-1687. 

DENONVILLE   AND   DONGAN. 

Troubles  of  the  New  Governor.  —  His  Character.  —  English  Riv- 
alry.—  Intrigues  of  Dongan. — English  Claims. — A  Diploma- 
tic Duel.  — Overt  Acts.  — Anger  of  Denonville.  —  James  II. 
checks  Dongan.  —  Denonville  emboldened.  —  Strife  in  the 
North.  —  Hudson's  Bay.  —  Attempted  Pacification. — Artifice 
of  Denonville.  —  He  prepares  for  War 116 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

1687. 

DENONVILLE    AND    THE    SENECAS. 

Treachery  of  Denonville. — Iroquois  Generosity.  —  The  Invading 
Army.  —  The  Western  Allies.  —  Plunder  of  English  Traders.  — 
Arrival  of  the  Allies.  — Scene  at  the  French  Camp.  —  March  of 
Denonville.  —  Ambuscade.  —  Battle.  —  Victory.  —  The  Seneca 
Babylon. — Imperfect  Success 139 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1687-1689. 

THE    IROQUOIS    INVASION. 

Altercations.  —  Attitude  of  Dongan.  —  Martial  Preparation.  — 
Perplexity  of  Denonville.  — Angry  Correspondence.  —  Recall  of 
Dongan.  —  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  —  Humiliation  of  Denonville. 

—  Distress  of  Canada. — Appeals  for  Help  — Iroquois  Diplo- 
macy. —  A  Huron  Macchiavel.  —  The  Catastrophe.  —  Ferocity 

of  the  Victors.  —  War  with  England.  —  Recall  of  Denonville    .     158 

CHAPTER  X. 

1689,  1690. 

RETURN   OF   FRONTENAC. 

Versailles. — Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontenac  sails  for  Que- 
bec.—  Projected  Conquest  of  New  York.  —  Designs  of  the 
King.  —  Failure.  —  Energy  of  Frontenac.  —  Fort  Frontenac.  — 
Panic.  —  Negotiations.  —  The  Iroquois  in  Council.  —  Chevalier 
d'Aux.  —  Taunts  of  the  Indian  Allies.  —  Boldness  of  Frontenac. 

—  An  Iroquois  Defeat.  —  Cruel  Policy.  —  The  Stroke  parried  .     184 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XL 

1690. 

THE    THREE   WAR-PARTIES. 

Measures  of  Frontenac.  —  Expedition  against  Schenectady.  —  The 
March.— The  Dutch  Village.  —  The  Surprise. —  The  Massa- 
cre. —  Prisoners  spared.  —  Retreat.  —  The  English  and  their 
Iroquois  Friends.  —  The  Abenaki  War. — Revolution  at  Bos- 
ton. —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Salmon  Falls.  — 
Capture  of  Fort  Loyal.  —  Frontenac  and  his  Prisoner.  —  The 
Canadians  encouraged 208 

CHAPTER  XIL 

1690. 

MASSACHUSETTS    ATTACKS    QUEBEC. 

English  Schemes.  —  Capture  of  Port  Royal.  —  Acadia  reduced.  — 
Conduct  of  Phips.  —  His  History  and  Character.  —  Boston  in 
Arms.  —  A  Puritan  Crusade.  —  The  March  from  Albany.  — 
Frontenac  and  the  Council.  —  Frontenac  at  Montreal.  —  His 
War  Dance.  — An  Abortive  Expedition.  —  An  English  Raid. — 
Frontenac  at  Quebec.  —  Defences  of  the  Town.  —  The  Enemy 
arrives 235 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
1690. 

DEFENCE    OF    QUEBEC. 

Phips  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  —  Phips  at  Quebec.  —  A  Flag  of  Truce. 

—  Scene  at  the  Chateau.  —  The  Summons  and  the  Answer.  — 
Plan  of  Attack.  — Landing  of  the  English.  —  The  Cannonade. 

—  The  Ships  repulsed.  —  The  Land  Attack.  —  Retreat  of  Phips. 

—  Condition  of  Quebec.  —  Rejoicings  of  the  French.  —  Distress 

at  Boston 262 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
1690-1694. 

THE    SCOURGE    OP    CANADA. 

Iroquois  Inroads.  —  Death  of  Bienville.  —  English  Attack.  —  A 
Desperate  Fight.  —  Miseries  of  the  Colony.  —  Alarms.  —  A 
Winter  Expedition.  —  La  Chesnaye  burned.  —  The  Heroine  of 
Vercheres.  —  Mission  Indians. — The  Mohawk  Expedition. — 
Retreat  and  Pursuit.  —  Relief  arrives.  —  Frontenac  Triumphant.    286 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XV. 

1691-1695. 

AX    INTERLUDE. 

Appeal  of  Frontenac.  —  His  Opponents.  —  His  Services.  —  Rivalry 
and   Strife. — Bishop  Saint- Vallier.  —  Society  at  the  Chateau. 

—  Private  Theatricals.  —  Alarm  of  the  Clergy.  —  Tartuffe.  — 
A  Singular  Bargain.  —  Mareuil  and  the  Bishop.  —  Mareuil  on 
Trial.  —  Zeal  of  Saint- Vallier.  —  Scandals  at  Montreal.  —  Ap- 
peal to  the  King.  —  The  Strife  composed.  —  Lihel  against  Fron- 
tenac     317 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

1690-1691. 

THE    WAR   IN   ACADIA. 

State  of  that  Colony.  —  The  Abenakis.  —  Acadia  and  New  Eng- 
land.—  Pirates.  —  Baron  de  Saint-Castin.  —  Pentegoet.  —  The 
English  Frontier.  —  The  French  and  the  Abenakis.  —  Plan  of 
the  War.  —  Capture  of  York.  —  Villebon.  —  Grand  War-party. 

—  Attack  of  Wells. — Pemaquid  rebuilt.  —  John  Nelson. —  A 
Broken  Treaty.  —  Villieu  and  Thury.  —  Another  War-party.  — 
Massacre  at  Oyster  River 335 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

1690-1697. 

NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  Frontier  of  New  England.  — Border  Warfare.  —  Motives  of  the 
French. —  Needless  Barbarity. —  Who  were  answerable?  — 
Father  Thury.  —  The  Abenakis  waver. — Treachery  at  Pema- 
quid. —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Projected  Attack  on  Boston.  — 
Disappointment.  —  Miseries  of  the  Frontier.  —  A  Captive  Am- 
azon       370 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

1693-1697. 

FRENCH    AND   ENGLISH    RIVALRY. 

Le  Moyne  dTberville.  — His  Exploits  in  Newfoundland.  — In  Hud- 
son's Bay.  —  The  Great  Prize.  —  The  Competitors.  —  Fatal 
Policy  of  the  King.  —  The  Iroquois  Question. — Negotiation. — 
Firmness  of  Frontenac.  —  English  Intervention.  —  War  renewed. 

—  State  of  the  West.  —  Indian  Diplomacy.  —  Cruel  Measures. 

—  A  Perilous  Crisis.  —  Audacity  of  Frontenac 388 


XVI  CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

1696-1698. 

FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGAS. 

March  of  Frontenac.  —  Flight  of  the  Enemy.  —  An  Iroquois  Stoic. 

—  Relief  for  the  Onondagas.  —  Boasts  of  Frontenac.  —  His 
Complaints.  —  His  Enemies.  —  Parties  in  Canada.  —  Views  of 
Frontenac  and  the  King.  — Frontenac  prevails.  — Peace  of  Rys- 
wick.  —  Frontenac  and  Bellomont.  —  Schuyler  at  Quebec.  — 
Festivities.  —  A  Last  Defiance 410 

CHAPTER  XX. 
1698. 

DEATH   OF   FRONTENAC. 

His  Last  Hours.  —  His  Will.  —  His  Funeral.  —  His  Eulogist  and 

his  Critic.  —  His  Disputes  with  the  Clergy.  —  His  Character.     .    428 

CHAPTER  XXL 

1699-1701. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  New  Governor.  —  Attitude  of  the  Iroquois.  —  Negotiations.  — 
Embassy  to  Onondaga.  —  Peace.  —  The  Iroquois  and  the  Allies. 

—  Difficulties.  —  Death  of  the  Great  Huron.  —  Funeral  Rites. 

—  The  Grand  Council.  —  The  Work  of  Frontenac  finished. — 
Results 438 


APPENDIX 453 

INDEX 457 


CANADA 

ash  m&ACEsr  cuvsmms 

toward*  i/k  efote 

17"  CENTURY. 


COUNT  FEONTENAC  AND  NEW  FRANCE 
UNDER  LOUIS  XIV. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1620-1672. 
COUNT  AND   COUNTESS   FRONTENAC. 

Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  and  Madame  de  Frontenac.  — 
Orleans.  —  The  Marechale  de  Camp.  —  Count  Frontenac.  — 
Conjugal  Disputes.  —  Early  Life  op  Frontenac.  —  His 
Courtship  and  Marriage. — Estrangement.  —  Scenes  at  St. 
Fargeau.  —  The  Lady  of  Honor  dismissed.  —  Frontenac  as  a 
Soldier.  —  He  is  made  Governor  op  New  France.  —  Les 
Divines. 

At  Versailles  there  is  the  portrait  of  a  lady, 
beautiful  and  young.  She  is  painted  as  Minerva, 
a  plumed  helmet  on  her  head,  and  a  shield  on  her 
arm.  In  a  corner  of  the  canvas  is  written  Anne 
de  La  Grange- Trianon,  Comtesse  de  Frontenac. 
This  blooming  goddess  was  the  wife  of  the  future 
governor  of  Canada. 

Madame  de  Frontenac,  at  the  age  of  about 
twenty,  was  a  favorite  companion  of  Mademoiselle 
de  Montpensier,  the  grand-daughter  of  Henry  IV. 
and  daughter  of  the  weak  and  dastardly  Gaston, 
Duke  of  Orleans.  Nothing  in  French  annals  has 
found  more  readers  than  the  story  of  the  exploit 
of  this  spirited  princess  at  Orleans  during  the  civil 

1 


^  COUNT   AND    COUNTESS   FRONTENAC.  [1652. 

war  of  the  Fronde.  Her  cousin  Concle,  chief  of  the 
revolt,  had  found  favor  in  her  eyes ;  and  she  had 
espoused  his  cause  against  her  cousin,  the  king. 
The  royal  army  threatened  Orleans.  The  duke, 
her  father,  dared  not  leave  Paris;  but  he  con- 
sented that  his  daughter  should  go  in  his  place  to 
hold  the  city  for  Conde  and  the  Fronde. 

The  princess  entered  her  carriage  and  set  out 
on  her  errand,  attended  by  a  small  escort.  With 
her  were  three  young  married  ladies,  the  Marquise 
cle  Breaute,  the  Comtesse  de  Fiesque,  and  the 
Comtesse  de  Frontenac.  In  two  days  they  reached 
Orleans.  The  civic  authorities  were  afraid  to  de- 
clare against  the  king,  and  hesitated  to  open  the 
gates  to  the  daughter  of  their  duke,  who,  standing 
in  the  moat  with  her  three  companions,  tried  per- 
suasion and  threats  in  vain.  The  prospect  was  not 
encouraging,  when  a  crowd  of  boatmen  came  up 
from  the  river  and  offered  the  princess  their  ser- 
vices. "  I  accepted  them  gladly,"  she  writes, 
"  and  said  a  thousand  fine  things,  such  as  one  must 
say  to  that  sort  of  people  to  make  them  do  what 
one  wishes."  She  gave  them  money  as  well  as 
fair  words,  and  begged  them  to  burst  open  one  of 
the  gates.  They  fell  at  once  to  the  work  ;  while 
the  guards  and  officials  looked  down  from  the 
walls,  neither  aiding  nor  resisting  them.  "  To 
animate  the  boatmen  by  my  presence,"  she  con- 
tinues, "  I  mounted  a  hillock  near  by.  I  did  not 
look  to  see  which  way  I  went,  but  clambered 
up  like  a  cat,  clutching  brambles  and  thorns,  and 
jumping    over    hedges   without    hurting    myself. 


1652.]  ORLEANS.  3 

Madame  cle  Breaute,  who  is  the  most  cowardly 
creature  in  the  world,  began  to  cry  out  against  me 
and  everybody  who  followed  me ;  in  fact,  I  do  not 
know  if  she  did  not  swear  in  her  excitement,  which 
amused  me  verv  much."  At  length,  a  hole  was 
knocked  in  the  gate ;  and  a  gentleman  of  her  train, 
who  had  directed  the  attack,  beckoned  her  to  come 
on.  "  As  it  was  very  muddy,  a  man  took  me  and 
carried  me  forward,  and  thrust  me  in  at  this  hole, 
where  my  head  was  no  sooner  through  than  the 
drums  beat  to  salute  me.  I  gave  my  hand  to  the 
captain  of  the  guard.  The  shouts  redoubled. 
Two  men  took  me  and  put  me  in  a  wooden  chair. 
I  do  not  know  whether  I  wras  seated  in  it  or  on 
their  arms,  for  I  wras  beside  myself  with  joy. 
Everybody  was  kissing  my  hands,  and  I  almost 
died  with  laughing  to  see  myself  in  such  an  odd 
position."  There  was  no  resisting  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  people  and  the  soldiers.  Orleans  was  won 
for  the  Fronde.1 

The  young  Countesses  of  Frontenac  and  Fiesque 
had  constantly  followed  her,  and  climbed  after  her 
through  the  hole  in  the  gate.  Her  father  wrote 
to  compliment  them  on  their  prowress,  and  ad- 
dressed his  letter  a  Mesdames  Us  Comtesses, 
Marechales  cle  Camp  dans  Varmee  de  ma  fille 
contre  le  Mazarin.  Officers  and  soldiers  took 
part  in  the  pleasantry ;  and,  as  Madame  de  Fronte- 
nac passed  on  horseback  before  the  troops,  they 
saluted  her  with  the  honors  paid  to  a  brigadier. 

When  the  king,  or  Cardinal  Mazarin  who  con- 

1  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  I.  358-363  (ed.  1859). 


4  COUNT  AND   COUNTESS   FRONTENAC.  [1653 

trolled  him,  had  triumphed  over  the  revolting 
princes,  Mademoiselle  cle  Montpensier  paid  the 
penalty  of  her  exploit  by  a  temporary  banishment 
from  the  court.  She  roamed  from  place  to  place, 
with  a  little  court  of  her  own,  of  which  Madame 
de  Frontenac  was  a  conspicuous  member.  During 
the  war,  Count  Frontenac  had  been  dangerously 
ill  of  a  fever  in  Paris ;  and  his  wife  had-  been  absent 
for  a  time,  attending  him.  She  soon  rejoined  the 
princess,  who  was  at  her  chateau  of  St.  Fargeau, 
three  clays'  journey  from  Paris,  when  an  incident 
occurred  which  placed  the  married  life  of  her  fair 
companion  in  an  unexpected  light.  "  The  Duch- 
esse  de  Sully  came  to  see  me,  and  brought  with  her 
M.  d'Herbault  and  M.  de  Frontenac.  Frontenac  had 
stopped  here  once  before,  but  it  was  only  for  a 
week,  when  he  still  had  the  fever,  and  took  great 
care  of  himself  like  a  man  who  had  been  at  the 
door  of  death.  This  time  he  was  in  high  health. 
His  arrival  had  not  been  expected,  and  his  wife 
was  so  much  surprised  that  everybody  observed  it, 
especially  as  the  surprise  seemed  to  be  not  at  all  a 
pleasant  one.  Instead  of  going  to  talk  with  her 
husband,  she  went  off  and  hid  herself,  crying  and 
screaming  because  he  had  said  that  he  would  like 
to  have  her  company  that  evening.  I  was  very 
much  astonished,  especially  as  I  had  never  before 
perceived  her  aversion  to  him.  The  elder  Com- 
tesse  cle  Fiesque  remonstrated  with  her ;  but  she 
only  cried  the  more.  Madame  cle  Fiesque  then 
brought  books  to  show  her  her  duty  as  a  wrife  ;  but 
it  did  no  good,  and  at  last  she  got  into  such  a  state 


1620-48.]  EARLY  LIFE   OF  FRONTENAC.  5 

that  we  sent  for  the  cure  with  holy  water  to  exor- 
cise her."  1 

Count  Frontenac  came  of  an  ancient  and  noble 
race,  said  to  have  been  of  Basque  origin.  His 
father  held  a  high  post  in  the  household  of 
Louis  XIII.,  who  became  the  child's  god-father, 
and  gave  him  his  own  name.  At  the  age  of  fif- 
teen, the  young  Louis  showed  an  incontrollable 
passion  for  the  life  of  a  soldier.  He  was  sent  to 
the  seat  of  war  in  Holland,  to  serve  under  the 
Prince  of  Orange.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  was 
a  volunteer  at  the  siege  of  Hesdin ;  in  the  next 
year,  he  was  at  Arras,  where  he  distinguished  him- 
self during  a  sortie  of  the  garrison ;  in  the  next,  he 
took  part  in  the  siege  of  Aire  ;  and,  in  the  next,  in 
those  of  Callioure  and  Perpignan.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-three,  he  was  made  colonel  of  the  regiment 
of  Normandy,  which  he  commanded  in  repeated 
battles  and  sieges  of  the  Italian  campaign.  He 
was  several  times  wounded,  and  in  1646  he  had 
an, arm  broken  at  the  siege  of  Orbitello.  In  the 
same  year,  when  twenty-six  years  old,  he  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  marechal  de  camp,  equiva- 
lent to  that  of  brigadier-general.  A  year  or  two 
later,  we  find  him  at  Paris,  at  the  house  of  his 
father,  on  the  Quai  des  Celestins.2 

In  the  same  neighborhood  lived  La  Grange- 
Trianon,   Sieur  de  Neuville,  a  widower  of   fifty, 

1  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  II.  265.  The  cure's  holy 
water,  or  his  exhortations,  were  at  last  successful. 

2  Pinard,  Chronologie  Historique-militaire,  VI.  ;  Table  de  la  Gazette  de 
France ;  Jal,  Dictionnaire  Critique,  Biographique,  et  d'Histoire,  art.  "  Fron- 
tenac; "  Gojer,  Oraison  Funebre  da  Comte  de  Frontenac. 


6  COUNT  AND   COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.  [1048. 

with  one  child,  a  daughter  of  sixteen,  whom  he 
had  placed  in  the  charge  of  his  relative,  Madame 
de  Bouthillier.  Frontenac  fell  in  love  with  her. 
Madame  de  Bouthillier  opposed  the  match,  and 
told  La  Grange  that  he  might  do  better  for  his 
daughter  than  to  marry  her  to  a  man  who,  say 
what  he  might,  had  but  twenty  thousand  francs  a 
year.  La  Grange  was  weak  and  vacillating  :  some- 
times he  listened  to  his  prudent  kinswoman,  and 
sometimes  to  the  eager  suitor ;  treated  him  as  a 
son-in-law,  carried  love  messages  from  him  to  his 
daughter,  and  ended  by  refusing  him  her  hand,  and 
ordering  her  to  renounce  him  on  pain  of  being  im- 
mured in  a  convent.  Neither  Frontenac  nor  his 
mistress  was  of  a  pliant  temper.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood was  the  little  church  of  St.  Pierre  aux 
Bceufs,  which  had  the  privilege  of  uniting  couples 
without  the  consent  of  their  parents ;  and  here,  on 
a  Wednesday  in  October,  1648,  the  lovers  were 
married  in  presence  of  a  number  of  Frontenac's 
relatives.  La  Grange  was  furious  at  the  discovery ; 
but  his  anger  soon  cooled,  and  complete  reconcilia- 
tion followed.1 

The  happiness  of  the  newly  wedded  pair  was 
short.  Love  soon  changed  to  aversion,  at  least  on 
the  part  of  the  bride.  She  was  not  of  a  tender 
nature ;  her  temper  was  imperious,  and  she  had  a 
restless  craving  for  excitement.  Frontenac,  on  his 
part,  was  the  most  wayward  and  headstrong  of 
men.     She  bore  him   a  son  ;  but  maternal  cares 

i  Historiettes  de  Tallemant  des  B.€aux,  IX.  214  (eel.  Monmerque)  ;  Jal, 
Dictionnaire  Critique,  etc. 


1653.]  CHARACTER   OF  FRONTENAC.  7 

were  not  to  her  liking.  The  infant,  Francois  Louis, 
was  placed  in  the  keeping  of  a  nurse  at  the  village 
of  Clion  ;  and  his  young  mother  left  her  husband, 
to  follow  the  fortunes  of  Mademoiselle  cle  Mont- 
pensier,  who  for  a  time  pronounced  her  charming, 
praised  her  wit  and  beauty,  and  made  her  one  of 
her  ladies  of  honor.  Very  curious  and  amusing 
are  some  of  the  incidents  recounted  by  the  prin- 
cess, in  which  Madame  cle  Frontenac  bore  part ; 
but  what  is  more  to  our  purpose  are  the  sketches 
traced  here  and  there  by  the  same  sharp  pen,  in 
which  one  may  discern  the  traits  of  the  destined 
saviour  of  New  France.  Thus,  in  the  following, 
we  see  him  at  St.  Fargeau  in  the  same  attitude  in 
which  we  shall  often  see  him  at  Quebec. 

The  princess  and  the  duke  her  father  had  a  dis- 
pute touching  her  property.  Frontenac  had  lately 
been  at  Blois,  where  the  duke  had  possessed  him 
with  his  own  views  of  the  questions  at  issue. 
Accordingly,  on  arriving  at  St.  Fargeau,  he  seemed 
disposed  to  assume  the  character  of  mediator. 
"  He  wanted,"  says  the  princess,  "  to  discuss  my 
affairs  with  me :  I  listened  to  his  preaching,  and 
he  also  spoke  about  these  matters  to  Prefontaine 
{her  man  of  business).  I  returned  to  the  house 
after  our  promenade,  and  we  went  to  dance  in 
the  great  hall.  While  we  were  dancing,  I  saw 
Prefontaine  walking  at  the  farther  end  with  Fron- 
tenac, who  was  talking  and  gesticulating.  This 
continued  for  a  long  time.  Madame  cle  Sully 
noticed  it  also,  and  seemed  disturbed  by  it,  as  I 
was  myself.    I  said,  c  Have  we  not  danced  enough  ?  ' 


8        COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.     [165.3. 

Madame  de  Sully  assented,  and  we  went  out.  I 
called  Prefontaine,  and  asked  him,  i  What  was 
Frontenac  saying  to  you  ?  '  He  answered  :  6  He 
was  scolding  me.  I  never  saw  such  an  impertinent 
man  in  m}r  life.'  I  went  to  my  room,  and  Madame 
de  Sully  and  Madame  de  Fiesque  followed.  Ma- 
dame de  Sully  said  to  Prefontaine  :  '  I  was  very 
much  disturbed  to  see  you  talking  with  so  much 
warmth  to  Monsieur  de  Frontenac ;  for  he  came 
here  in  such  ill-humor  that  I  was  afraid  he  would 
quarrel  with  you.  Yesterday,  when  we  were  in  the 
carriage,  he  was  ready  to  eat  us.'  The  Comtesse 
de  Fiesque  said,  i  This  morning  he  came  to  see  my 
mother-in-law,  and  scolded  at  her.'  Prefontaine 
answered :  '  He  wanted  to  throttle  me.  I  never 
saw  a  man  so  crazy  and  absurd.'  We  all  four  began 
to  pity  poor  Madame  de  Frontenac  for  having  such 
a  husband,  and  to  think  her  right  in  not  wanting 
to  go  with  him."  l 

Frontenac  owned  the  estate  of  Isle  Savary,  on 
the  Inclre,  not  far  from  Blois ;  and  here,  soon  after 
the  above  scene,  the  princess  made  him  a  visit. 
"It  is  a  pretty  enough  place,"  she  says,  "for  a 
man  like  him.  The  house  is  well  furnished,  and 
he  gave  me  excellent  entertainment.  He  showed 
me  all  the  plans  he  had  for  improving  it,  and  mak- 
ing gardens,  fountains,  and  ponds.  It  would  need 
the  riches  of  a  superintendent  of  finance  to  execute 
his  schemes,  and  how  anybody  else  should  ven- 
ture to  think  of  them  I  cannot  comprehend." 

"  While   Frontenac  was    at    St.   Fargeau,"    she 

1  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  II.  267. 


1653-60.]  SCENES  AT   ST.  FARGEAU.  9 

continues,  "  he  kept  open  table,  and  many  of  my 
people  went  to  cline  with  him ;  for  he  affected  to 
hold  court,  and  acted  as  if  everybody  owed  duty 
to  him.  The  conversation  was  always  about  my 
affair  with  his  Royal  Highness  [her  father),  whose 
conduct  towards  me  was  always  praised,  while 
mine  was  blamed.  Frontenac  spoke  ill  of  Prefon- 
taine,  and,  in  fine,  said  every  thing  he  could  to  dis- 
please me  and  stir  up  my  own  people  against  me. 
He  praised  every  thing  that  belonged  to  himself, 
and  never  came  to  sup  or  dine  with  me  without 
speaking  of  some  ragout  or  some  new  sweetmeat 
which  had  been  served  up  on  his  table,  ascribing 
it  all  to  the  excellence  of  the  officers  of  his  kitchen. 
The  very  meat  that  he  ate,  according  to  him,  had 
a  different  taste  on  his  board  than  on  any  other. 
As  for  his  silver  plate,  it  was  always  of  good  work- 
manship ;  and  his  dress  was  always  of  patterns  in- 
vented by  himself.  When  he  had  new  clothes,  he 
paraded  them  like  a  child.  One  day  he  brought 
me  some  to  look  at,  and  left  them  on  my  dressing- 
table.  We  were  then  at  Chambord.  His  Royal 
Highness  came  into  the  room,  and  must  have 
thought  it  odd  to  see  breeches  and  doublets  in 
such  a  place.  Prefontaine  and  I  laughed  about  it 
a  great  deal.  Frontenac  took  everybody  who  came 
to  St.  Fargeau  to  see  his  stables ;  and  all  who  wished 
to  gain  his  good  graces  were  obliged  to  admire  his 
horses,  which  were  very  indifferent.  In  short, 
this  is  his  way  in  every  thing."1 

Though  not  himself   of    the  highest  rank,  his 

1  Me'iuoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  II.  279  ;  III.  1G. 


10       COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.   1.1660-72. 

position  at  court  was,  from  the  courtier  point  of 
view,  an  enviable  one.  The  princess,  after  her 
banishment  had  ended,  more  than  once  mentions 
incidentally  that  she  had  met  him  in  the  cabinet 
of  the  queen.  Her  dislike  of  him  became  intense, 
and  her  fondness  for  his  wife  changed  at  last  to 
aversion.  She  charges  the  countess  with  inerrati- 
tude.  She  discovered,  or  thought  that  she  discov- 
ered, that  in  her  dispute  with  her  father,  and  in 
certain  dissensions  in  her  oavii  household,  Madame 
cle  Frontenac  had  acted  secretly  in  opposition  to 
her  interests  and  wishes.  The  imprudent  lady  of 
honor  received  permission  to  leave  her  service.  It 
was  a  woful  scene.  "  She  saw  me  get  into  my 
carriage,"  writes  the  princess,  "and  her  distress 
was  greater  than  ever.  Her  tears  flowed  abun- 
dantly: as  for  me,  my  fortitude  was  perfect,  and  I 
looked  on  with  composure  while  she  cried.  If  any 
thing  could  disturb  my  tranquillity,  it  was  the  recol- 
lection of  the  time  when  she  laughed  while  I  was 
crying."  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  had  been 
deeply  offended,  and  apparently  with  reason.  The 
countess  and  her  husband  received  an  order  never 
again  to  appear  in  her  presence ;  but  soon  after, 
when  the  princess  was  with  the  king  and  queen 
at  a  comedy  in  the  garden  of  the  Louvre,  Fron- 
tenac, who  had  previously  arrived,  immediately 
changed  his  position,  and  with  his  usual  audacity 
took  a  post  so  conspicuous  that  she  could  not  help 
seeing  him.  "  I  confess,"  she  says,  "  I  was  so  an- 
gry that  I  could  find  no  pleasure  in  the  play ;  but 
I  said  nothing  to  the  king  and  queen,  fearing  that 


1660-72.]  FRONTENAC  AS   A   SOLDIER.  11 

they  would  not  take  such  a  view  of  the  matter  as 
I  wished."  J 

With  the  close  of  her  relations  with  "  La  Grande 
Mademoiselle,"  Madame  de  Frontenac  is  lost  to 
sight  for  a  while.  In  1669.  a  Venetian  embassy 
came  to  France  to  beg  for  aid  against  the  Turks, 
who  for  more  than  two  years  had  attacked  Canclia 
in  overwhelming  force.  The  ambassadors  offered 
to  place  their  own  troops  under  French  command, 
and  they  asked  Tureune  to  name  a  general  officer 
equal  to  the  task.  Frontenac  had  the  signal  honor 
of  being  chosen  by  the  first  soldier  of  Europe  for 
this  most  arduous  and  difficult  position.  He  went 
accordingly.  The  result  increased  his  reputation 
for  ability  and  courage ;  but  Candia  was  doomed, 
and  its  chief  fortress  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
infidels,  after  a  protracted  struggle,  which  is  said 
to  have  cost  them  a  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
men.2 

Three  years  later,  Frontenac  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  Governor  and  Lieutenant-General 
for  the  king  in  all  New  France.  "  He  was,"  says 
Saint-Simon,  "  a  man  of  excellent  parts,  living 
much  in  society,  and  completely  ruined.  He  found 
it  hard  to  bear  the  imperious  temper  of  his  wife ; 
and  he  was  given  the  government  of  Canada  to 
deliver  him  from  her,  and  afford  him  some  means 
of  living."  3     Certain  scandalous  songs  of  the  day 

1  Me'moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  III.  270. 

2  Oraison  funebre  da  Comte  de  Frontenac,  par  le  Pere  Olivier  Goyer.  A 
powerful  French  contingent,  under  another  command,  co-operated  with 
the  Venetians  under  Frontenac. 

3  Me'moires  du  Ducde  Saint-Simon,  II.  270  :  V.  336. 


12  COUNT  AND   COUNTESS  FRONTENAC,  [1672. 

assign  a  different  motive  for  his  appointment. 
Louis  XIV.  was  enamoured  of  Madame  de  Mon- 
tespan.  She  had  once  smiled  upon  Frontenac  ; 
and  it  is  said  that  the  jealous  king  gladly  embraced 
the  opportunity  of  removing  from  his  presence, 
and  from  hers,  a  lover  who  had  forestalled  him.1 

Frontenac's  wife  had  no  thought  of  following 
him  across  the  sea.  A  more  congenial  life  awaited 
her  at  home.  She  had  long  had  a  friend  of  hum- 
bler station  than  herself,  Mademoiselle  cl'Outrelaise, 
daughter  of  an  obscure  gentleman  of  Poitou,  an 
amiable  and  accomplished  person,  who  became 
through  life  her  constant  companion.  The  exten- 
sive building  called  the  Arsenal,  formerly  the 
residence  of  Sully,  the  minister  of  Henry  IV., 
contained  suites  of  apartments  which  were  granted 
to   persons  who  had  influence   enough  to  obtain 

1  Note  of  M.  Brunei,  in  Correspondence  de  la  Duchesse  d' Orleans,  I.  200 
(ed.  1869). 

The  following  lines,  among  others,  were  passed  about  secretly  among 
the  courtiers  :  — 

"  Je  suis  ravi  que  le  roi,  notre  sire, 
Aime  la  Montespan ; 
Moi,  Frontenac,  je  me  creve  de  rire, 

Sachant  ce  qui  lui  pend  ; 
Et  je  dirai,  sans  etre  des  plus  bestes, 
Tu  n'as  que  mon  reste, 

Eoi, 
Tu  n'as  que  mon  reste." 

Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  had  mentioned  in  her  memoirs,  some 
years  before,  that  Frontenac,  in  taking  out  his  handkerchief,  dropped 
from  his  pocket  a  love-letter  to  Mademoiselle  de  Mortemart,  afterwards 
Madame  de  Montespan,  which  was  picked  up  by  one  of  the  attendants 
of  the  princess.  The  king,  on  the  other  hand,  was  at  one  time  attracted 
by  the  charms  of  Madame  de  Frontenac,  against  whom,  however,  no 
aspersion  is  cast. 

The  Comte  de  Grignan,  son-in-law  of  Madame  de  Sevigne,  was  an 
unsuccessful  competitor  with  Frontenac  for  the  government  of  Canada. 


1672-1707.]  LES  DIVINES.  13 

them.  The  Due  cle  Lucie,  grand  master  of  artil- 
lery, had  them  at  his  disposal,  and  gave  one  of 
them  to  Madame  de  Frontenac.  Here  she  made 
her  abode  with  her  friend  ;  and  here  at  last  she 
died,  at  the  age  of  seventy-live.  The  annalist 
Saint-Simon,  who  knew  the  court  and  all  belonging 
to  it  better  than  any  other  man  of  his  time,  says 
of  her  :  "  She  had  been  beautiful  and  gay,  and  was 
always  in  the  best  society,  where  she  was  greatly 
in  request.  Like  her  husband,  she  had  little  prop- 
erty and  abundant  wit.  She  and  Mademoiselle 
d'Outrelaise,  whom  she  took  to  live  with  her,  gave 
the  tone  to  the  best  company  of  Paris  and  the 
court,  though  they  never  went  thither.  They 
were  called  Les  Divines.  In  fact,  they  demanded 
incense  like  goddesses ;  and  it  was  lavished  upon 
them  all  their  lives." 

Mademoiselle  d'Outrelaise  died  long  before  the 
countess,  who  retained  in  old  age  the  rare  social 
gifts  which  to  the  last  made  her  apartments  a 
resort  of  the  highest  society  of  that  brilliant  epoch. 
It  was  in  her  power  to  be  very  useful  to  her  absent 
husband,  who  often  needed  her  support,  and  who 
seems  to  have  often  received  it. 

She  was  childless.  Her  son,  Francois  Louis,  was 
killed,  some  say  in  battle,  and  others  in  a  duel,  at 
an  early  age.  Her  husband  died  nine  years  before 
her ;  and  the  old  countess  left  what  little  she  had 
to  her  friend  Beringhen,  the  king's  master  of  the 
horse.1 

1  On  Frontenac  and  his  family,  see  Appendix  A. 


CHAPTER  II. 

1672-1675. 

FRONTENAC   AT   QUEBEC. 

Arrival.  —  Bright  Prospects.  —  The  Three  Estates  of  New 
France.  —  Speech  of  the  Governor.  —  His  Innovations.  — 
Royal  Displeasure.  —  Signs  of  Storm. — Frontenac  and  the 
Priests.  —  His  Attempts  to  civilize  the  Indians.  —  Opposi- 
tion. —  Complaints  and  Heart-burnings. 

Frontenac  was  fifty-two  years  old  when  he 
landed  at  Quebec.  If  time  had  done  little  to  cure 
his  many  faults,  it  had  done  nothing  to  weaken  the 
springs  of  his  unconquerable  vitality.  In  his  ripe 
middle  age,  he  was  as  keen,  fiery,  and  perversely 
headstrong  as  when  he  quarrelled  with  Prefon- 
taine  in  the  hall  at  St.  Fargeau. 

Had  nature  disposed  him  to  melancholy,  there 
was  much  in  his  position  to  awaken  it.  A  man  of 
courts  and  camps,  born  and  bred  in  the  focus  of  a 
most  gorgeous  civilization,  he  was  banished  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  among  savage  hordes  and  half- 
reclaimed  forests,  to  exchange  the  splendors  of  St. 
Germain  and  the  dawning  glories  of  Versailles  for 
a  stern  gray  rock,  haunted  by  sombre  priests, 
rugged  merchants  and  traders,  blanketed  Indians, 
and  wild  bush-rangers.  But  Frontenac  was  a  man 
of  action.     He  wasted  no  time  in  vain  regrets,  and 


1672.]  ARRIVAL.  15 

set  himself  to  his  work  with  the  elastic  vigor  of 
youth.  His  first  impressions  had  been  very  favor- 
able. When,  as  he  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  the 
basin  of  Quebec  opened  before  him,  his  imagina- 
tion kindled  with  the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  "  I 
never/'  he  wrote,  "  saw  any  thing  more  superb 
than  the  position  of  this  town.  It  could  not  be 
better  situated  as  the  future  capital  of  a  great 
empire."  * 

That  Quebec  was  to  become  the  capital  of  a 
great  empire  there  seemed  in  truth  good  reason  to 
believe.  The  young  king  and  his  minister  Col- 
bert had  labored  in  earnest  to  build  up  a  new 
France  in  the  west.  For  years  past,  ship-loads  of 
emigrants  had  landed  every  summer  on  the  strand 
beneath  the  rock.  All  was  life  and  action,  and 
the  air  was  full  of  promise.  The  royal  agent 
Talon  had  written  to  his  master  :  "  This  part  of  the 
French  monarchy  is  destined  to  a  grand  future. 
All  that  I  see  around  me  points  to  it ;  and  the  colo- 
nies of  foreign  nations,  so  long  settled  on  the  sea- 
board, are  trembling  with  fright  in  view  of  what 
his  Majesty  has  accomplished  here  within  the  last 
seven  years.  The  measures  we  have  taken  to  con- 
fine them  within  narrow  limits,  and  the  prior  claim 
we  have  established  against  them  by  formal  acts 
of  possession,  do  not  permit  them  to  extend  them- 
selves except  at  peril  of  having  war  declared 
against  them  as  usurpers  ;  and  this,  in  fact,  is  what 
they  seem  greatly  to  fear."  2 


1  Frontenac  an  Ministre,  2  Nov.,  1672. 

2  Talon  au  Ministre,  2  Nov.,  1671. 


16  FROXTEXAC   AT   QUEBEC.  J1672. 

Frontenac  shared  the  spirit  of  the  hour.  His 
first  step  was  to  survey  his  government.  He 
talked  with  traders,  colonists,  and  officials ;  visited 
seigniories,  farms,  fishing-stations,  and  all  the  in- 
fant industries  that  Talon  had  galvanized  into  life  ; 
examined  the  new  ship  on  the  stocks,  admired  the 
structure  of  the  new  brewery,  went  to  Three 
Rivers  to  see  the  iron  mines,  and  then,  having 
acquired  a  tolerably  exact  idea  of  his  charge,  re- 
turned to  Quebec.  He  was  well  pleased  with  what 
he  saw,  but  not  with  the  ways  and  means  of  Cana- 
dian travel ;  for  lie  thought  it  strangely  unbecom- 
ing that  a  lieutenant-general  of  the  king  should 
be  forced  to  crouch  on  a  sheet  of  bark,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  a  birch  canoe,  scarcely  daring  to  move  his 
head  to  the  right  or  left  lest  he  should  disturb  the 
balance  of  the  fragile  vessel. 

At  Quebec  he  convoked  the  council,  made  them 
a  speech,  and  administered  the  oath  of  allegiance.1 
This  did  not  satisfy  him.  He  resolved  that  all 
Quebec  should  take  the  oath  together.  It  was  lit- 
tle but  a  pretext.  Like  many  of  his  station,  Fron- 
tenac was  not  in  full  sympathy  with  the  centraliz- 
ing movement  of  the  time,  which  tended  to  level 
ancient  rights,  privileges,  and  prescriptions  under 
the  ponderous  roller  of  the  monarchical  adminis- 
tration. He  looked  back  with  regret  to  the  day 
when  the  three  orders  of  the  state,  clergy,  nobles, 
and  commons,  had  a  place  and  a  power  in  the 
direction  of  national  affairs.  The  three  orders  still 
subsisted,  in  form,  if  not  in  substance,  in  some  of 

1  Registre  du  Conseil  Souverain. 


1G72.]  THE   THREE  ESTATES.  17 

the  provinces  of  France ;  and  Frontenac  conceived 
the  idea  of  reproducing  them  in  Canada.  Not 
only  did  he  cherish  the  tradition  of  faded  liberties, 
but  he  loved  pomp  and  circumstance,  above  all, 
when  he  was  himself  the  central  figure  in  it ;  and 
the  thought  of  a  royal  governor  of  Languecloc  or 
Brittany,  presiding  over  the  estates  of  his  province, 
appears  to  have  fired  him  with  emulation. 

He  had  no  difficulty  in  forming  his  order  of  the 
clergy.  The  Jesuits  and  the  seminary  priests  sup- 
plied material  even  more  abundant  than  he  wished. 
For  the  order  of  the  nobles,  he  found  three  or  four 
gentilshommes  at  Quebec,  and  these  he  reinforced 
with  a  number  of  officers.  The  third  estate  con- 
sisted of  the  merchants  and  citizens ;  and  he 
formed  the  members  of  the  council  and  the  magis- 
trates into  another  distinct  body,  though,  properly 
speaking,  they  belonged  to  the  third  estate,  of 
which  by  nature  and  prescription  they  were  the 
head.  The  Jesuits,  glad  no  doubt  to  lay  him 
under  some  slight  obligation,  lent  him  their  church 
for  the  ceremony  that  he  meditated,  and  aided  in 
decorating  it  for  the  occasion.  Here,  on  the 
twenty- third  of  October,  1672,  the  three  estates  of 
Canada  were  convoked,  with  as  much  pomp  and 
splendor  as  circumstances  would  permit.  Then 
Frontenac,  with  the  ease  of  a  man  of  the  world 
and  the  loftiness  of  a  grand  seigneur,  delivered 
himself  of  the  harangue  he  had  prepared.  He 
wrote  exceedingly  well ;  he  is  said  also  to  have 
excelled  as  an  orator ;  certainly  he  was  never 
averse  to  the  tones  of   his  own  eloquence.     His 


18  FRONTENAC  AT   QUEBEC.  [1672. 

speech  was  addressed  to  a  double  audience  :  the 
throng  that  filled  the  church,  and  the  king  and  the 
minister  three  thousand  miles  away.  He  told  his 
hearers  that  he  had  called  the  assembly,  not  because 
he  doubted  their  loyalty,  but  in  order  to  afford 
them  the  delight  of  making  public  protestation  of 
devotion  to  a  prince,  the  terror  of  whose  irresist- 
ible arms  was  matched  only  by  the  charms  of  his 
person  and  the  benignity  of  his  rule.  "  The  Holy 
Scriptures,"  he  said,  "  command  us  to  obey  our 
sovereign,  and  teach  us  that  no  pretext  or  reason 
can  dispense  us  from  this  obedience."  And,  in  a 
glowing  eulogy  on  Louis  XIV.,  he  went  on  to  show 
that  obedience  to  him  was  not  only  a  duty,  but  an 
inestimable  privilege.  He  dwelt  with  admiration 
on  the  recent  victories  in  Holland,  and  held  forth 
the  hope  that  a  speedy  and  glorious  peace  would 
leave  his  Majesty  free  to  turn  his  thoughts  to  the 
colony  which  already  owed  so  much  to  his  foster- 
ing care.  "  The  true  means,"  pursued  Frontenac, 
i;  of  gaining  his  favor  and  his  support,  is  for  us  to 
unite  with  one  heart  in  laboring  for  the  progress 
of  Canada."  Then  he  addressed,  in  turn,  the 
clergy,  the  nobles,  the  magistrates,  and  the  citi- 
zens. He  exhorted  the  priests  to  continue  with 
zeal  their  labors  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians, 
and  to  make  them  subjects  not  only  of  Christ,  but 
also  of  the  king  ;  in  short,  to  tame  and  civilize 
them,  a  portion  of  their  duties  in  which  he  plainly 
gave  them  to  understand  that  they  had  not  hith- 
erto acquitted  themselves  to  his  satisfaction. 
Next,  he    appealed    to    the    nobles,    commended 


1672.]  SPEECH  OF  FRONTENAC.  19 

their  gallantry,  and  called  upon  them  to  be  as 
assiduous  in  the  culture  and  improvement  of  the 
colony  as  they  were  valiant  in  its  defence.  The 
magistrates,  the  merchants,  and  the  colonists  in 
general  were  each  addressed  in  an  appropriate 
exhortation.  "I  can  assure  you,  messieurs,"  he 
concluded,  "  that  if  you  faithfully  discharge  your 
several  duties,  each  in  his  station,  his  Majesty  will 
extend  to  us  all.  the  help  and  all  the  favor  that  we 
can  desire.  It  is  needless,  then,  to  urge  you  to 
act  as  I  have  counselled,  since  it  is  for  your  own 
interest  to  do  so.  As  for  me,  it  only  remains  to 
protest  before  you  that  I  shall  esteem  myself 
happy  in  consecrating  all  my  efforts,  and,  if  need 
be,  my  life  itself,  to  extending  the  empire  of  Jesus 
Christ  throughout  all  this  land,  and  the  supremacy 
of  our  king  over  all  the  nations  that  dwell  in  it." 

He  administered  the  oath,  and  the  assembly  dis- 
solved. He  now  applied  himself  to  another  work  : 
that  of  giving  a  municipal  government  to  Quebec, 
after  the  model  of  some  of  the  cities  of  France. 
In  place  of  the  syndic,  an  official  supposed  to  rep- 
resent the  interests  of  the  citizens,  he  ordered  the 
public  election  of  three  aldermen,  of  whom  the 
senior  should  act  as  mayor.  One  of  the  number 
was  to  go  out  of  office  every  year,  his  place  being 
filled  by  a  new  election ;  and  the  governor,  as  rep- 
resenting the  king,  reserved  the  right  of  confirma- 
tion or  rejection.  He  then,  in  concert  with  the 
chief  inhabitants,  proceeded  to  frame  a  body  of 
regulations  for  the  government  of  a  town  destined, 
as  he  again  and  again  declares,  to  become  the  capi- 


20  FRONTENAC   AT   QUEBEC.  [1672. 

tal  of  a  mighty  empire ;  and  lie  farther  ordained 
that  the  people  should  hold  a  meeting  every  six 
months  to  discuss  questions  involving  the  welfare 
of  the  colony.  The  boldness  of  these  measures 
will  scarcely  be  appreciated  at  the  present  day. 
The  intendant  Talon  declined,  on  pretence  of  a 
slight  illness,  to  be  present  at  the  meeting  of  the 
estates.  He  knew  too  well  the  temper  of  the  king, 
whose  constant  policy  it  was  to  destroy  or  para- 
lyze every  institution  or  custom  that  stood  in  the 
way  of  his  autocracy.  The  despatches  in  which 
Frontenac  announced  to  his  masters  what  he  had 
clone  received  in  due  time  their  answer.  The 
minister  Colbert  wrote  :  "  Your  assembling  of  the 
inhabitants  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity,  and  your 
division  of  them  into  three  estates,  may  have  had 
a  good  effect  for  the  moment ;  but  it  is  well  for 
you  to  observe  that  you  are  always  to  follow,  in 
the  government  of  Canada,  the  forms  in  use  here ; 
and  since  our  kings  have  long  regarded  it  as  good 
for  their  service  not  to  convoke  the  states-general 
of  the  kingdom,  in  order,  perhaps,  to  abolish  in- 
sensibly this  ancient  usage,  you,  on  your  part, 
should  very  rarely,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly, 
never,  give  a  corporate  form  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Canada.  You  should  even,  as  the  colony  strength- 
ens, suppress  gradually  the  office  of  the  syndic, 
who  presents  petitions  in  the  name  of  the  inhabi- 
tants ;  for  it  is  well  that  each  should  speak  for 
himself,  and  no  one  for  all."  ' 

I  Frontenac  au  Roi,  2  Nov.,  1672;  Ibid.,  13  Nov.,  1673  ;  Harangue  du 
Comte  de  Frontenac  en  I' Assembled  a  Quebec;  Prestations  de  Serment,  23  Oct., 
1672  ;  Rtglement  de  Police  fait  par  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac;  Colbert 
a  Frontenac,  13  Juin,  1673. 


1672.]  SIGNS   OF  STORM.  21 

Here,  in  brief,  is  the  whole  spirit  of  the  French 
colonial  rule  in  Canada ;  a  government,  as  I  have 
elsewhere  shown,  of  excellent  intentions,  but  of 
arbitrary  methods.  Front  euac,  filled  with  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  past,  and  sincerely  desirous  of  the 
good  of  the  colony,  rashly  set  himself  against  the 
prevailing  current.  His  municipal  government, 
and  his  meetings  of  citizens,  were,  like  his  three 
estates,  abolished  by  a  word  from  the  court,  which, 
bold  and  obstinate  as  he  was,  he  dared  not  dis- 
obey. Had  they  been  allowed  to  subsist,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  great  good  would  have 
resulted  to  Canada. 

Frontenac  has  been  called  a  mere  soldier.  He 
was  an  excellent  soldier,  and  more  besides.  He 
was  a  man  of  vigorous  and  cultivated  mind,  pene- 
trating observation,  and  ample  travel  and  experi- 
ence. His  zeal  for  the  colony,  however,  was  often 
counteracted  by  the  violence  of  his  prejudices,  and 
by  two  other  influences.  First,  he  was  a  ruined 
man,  who  meant  to  mend  his  fortunes ;  and  his 
wish  that  Canada  should  prosper  was  joined  with 
a  determination  to  reap  a  goodly  part  of  her  j)ros- 
perity  for  himself.  Again,  he  could  not  endure 
a  rival ;  opposition  maddened  him,  and,  when 
crossed  or  thwarted,  he  forgot  every  thing  but  his 
passion.  Signs  of  storm  quickly  showed  them- 
selves between  him  and  the  intenclant  Talon ;  but 
the  danger  was  averted  by  the  departure  of  that 
official  for  France.  A  cloud  then  rose  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  clergy. 

"  Another  thing  displeases  me,"  writes  Fronte- 


22  FRONTENAC   AT  QUEBEC.        x  [1672. 

nac,  "  and  this  is  the  complete  dependence  of  the 
grand  vicar  and  the  seminary  priests  on  the  Jesuits, 
for  they  never  do  the  least  thing  without  their 
order:  so  that  they  {the  Jesuits)  are  masters  in 
spiritual  matters,  which,  as  you  know,  is  a  power- 
ful lever  for  moving  every  thing  else."1  And  he 
complains  that  they  have  spies  in  town  and  coun- 
try, that  they  abuse  the  confessional,  intermeddle 
in  families,  set  husbands  against  wives,  and  parents 
against  children,  and  all,  as  they  say,  for  the  greater 
glory  of  God.  "  I  call  to  mind  every  day,  Mon- 
seigneur,  what  you  did  me  the  honor  to  say  to  me 
when  I  took  leave  of  you,  and  every  day  I  am 
satisfied  more  and  more  of  the  great  importance 
to  the  king's  service  of  opposing  the  slightest  of 
the  attempts  which  are  daily  made  against  his 
authority."  He  goes  on  to  denounce  a  certain 
sermon,  preached  by  a  Jesuit,  to  the  great  scandal 
of  loyal  subjects,  wherein  the  father  declared  that 
the  king  had  exceeded  his  powers  in  licensing  the 
trade  in  brandy  when  the  bishop  had  decided  it  to 
be  a  sin,  together  with  other  remarks  of  a  seditious 
nature.  "  I  was  tempted  several  times,"  pursues 
Frontenac,  "  to  leave  the  church  with  my  guards 
and  interrupt  the  sermon ;  but  I  contented  my- 
self with  telling  the  grand  vicar  and  the  superior 
of  the  Jesuits,  after  it  was  over,  that  I  was  very 
much  surprised  at  what  I  had  heard,  and  demanded 
justice  at  their  hands.  They  greatly  blamed  the 
preacher,  and  disavowed  him,  attributing  his  lan- 
guage, after  their  custom,  to  an  excess  of  zeal,  and 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  2  Nov.,  1672. 


1672.]  FRONTENAC  AND  THE  PRIESTS.  23 

making  many  apologies,  with  which  I  pretended 
to  be  satisfied ;  though  I  told  them,  nevertheless, 
that  their  excuses  would  not  pass  current  with  me 
another  time,  and,  if  the  thing  happened  again,  I 
would  put  the  preacher  in  a  place  where  he  would 
learn  how  to  speak.  Since  then  they  have  been  a 
little  more  careful,  though  not  enough  to  prevent 
one  from  always  seeing  their  intention  to  persuade 
the  people  that,  even  in  secular  matters,  their 
authority  ought  to  be  respected  above  any  other. 
As  there  are  many  persons  here  who  have  no  more 
brains  than  they  need,  and  who  are  attached  to 
them  by  ties  of  interest  or  otherwise,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  an  eye  to  these  matters  in  this  country 
more  than  anywhere  else."  ! 

The  churchmen,  on  their  part,  were  not  idle. 
The  bishop,  who  was  then  in  France,  contrived  by 
some  means  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  contents 
of  the  private  despatches  sent  by  Colbert  in  reply 
to  the  letters  of  Frontenac.  He  wrote  to  another 
ecclesiastic  to  communicate  what  he  had  learned, 
at  the  same  time  enjoining  great  caution ;  "  since, 
while  it  is  well  to  acquire  all  necessary  information, 
and  to  act  upon  it,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  keep  secret  our  possession  of  such  knowledge."  2 

The  king  and  the  minister,  in  their  instructions 
to  Frontenac,  had  dwelt  with  great  emphasis  on 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  13  Nov.,  1673. 

2  Laval  a  ,  1674.  The  letter  is  a  complete  summary  of  the  con- 
tents of  Colbert's  recent  despatch  to  Frontenac.  Then  follows  the 
injunction  to  secrecy,  "  estant  de  tres-grande  consequence  que  Ton  ne 
sache  pas  que  Ton  aye  rien  appris  de  tout  cela,  sur  quoi  neanmoins  il  est  bon 
que  Ton  agisse  et  que  Ton  me  donne  tous  les  advis  qui  serontnecessaires." 


24  FRONTEXAC  AT   QUEBEC.  [1672. 

the  expediency  of  civilizing  the  Indians,  teaching 
them  the  French  language,  and  amalgamating  them 
with  the  colonists.  Frontenac,  ignorant  as  yet  of 
Indian  nature  and  unacquainted  with  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  case,  entered  into  these  views  with  great 
heartiness.  He  exercised  from  the  first  an  extraor- 
dinary influence  over  all  the  Indians  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact;  and  he  persuaded  the  most 
savage  and  refractory  of  them,  the  Iroquois,  to 
place  eight  of  their  children  in  his  hands.  Four 
of  these  were  girls  and  four  were  boys.  He  took 
two  of  the  boys  into  his  own  household,  of  which 
they  must  have  proved  most  objectionable  inmates ; 
and  he  supported  the  other  two,  who  were  younger, 
out  of  his  own  slender  resources,  placed  them  in 
respectable  French  families,  and  required  them  to 
go  daily  to  school.  The  girls  were  given  to  the 
charge  of  the  Ursulines.  Frontenac  continually 
urged  the  Jesuits  to  co-operate  with  him  in  this 
work  of  civilization,  but  the  results  of  his  urgency 
disappointed  and  exasperated  him.  He  complains 
that  in  the  village  of  the  Hurons,  near  Quebec, 
and  under  the  control  of  the  Jesuits,  the  French 
language  was  scarcely  known.  In  fact,  the  fathers 
contented  themselves  with  teaching  their  converts 
the  doctrines  and  rites  of  the  Roman  Church,  while 
retaining  the  food,  dress,  and  habits  of  their  origi- 
nal barbarism. 

In  defence  of  the  missionaries,  it  should  be  said 
that,  when  brought  in  contact  with  the  French,  the 
Indians  usually  caught  the  vices  of  civilization 
without  its  virtues  ;  but  Frontenac  made  no  allow- 


1672-73.]      COMPLAINTS  OF  FRONTENAC.  25 

ances.  "  The  Jesuits,"  he  writes,  "  will  not  civilize 
the  Indians,  because  they  wish  to  keep  them  in 
perpetual  wardship.  They  think  more  of  beaver 
skins  than  of  souls,  and  their  missions  are  pure 
mockeries."  At  the  same  time  he  assures  the  min- 
ister that,  when  he  is  obliged  to  correct  them,  he 
does  so  with  the  utmost  gentleness.  In  spite  of 
this  somewhat  doubtful  urbanity,  it  seems  clear 
that  a  storm  was  brewing  ;  and  it  was  fortunate  for 
the  peace  of  the  Canadian  Church  that  the  atten- 
tion of  the  truculent  governor  was  drawn  to  other 
quarters. 


CHAPTER  III. 

1673-1675. 
FRONTENAC    AND    PERROT. 

La  Salle.  —  Fort  Frontenac. —  Perrot.  —  His  Speculations. — 
His  Tyranny.  —  The  Bush-rangers.  —  Perrot  revolts.  — 
Becomes  alarmed.  —  Dilemma  of  Frontenac.  —  Mediation  op 
Fenelon. —  Perrot  in  Prison. — Excitement  of  the  Sclpi- 
tians.  —  Indignation  of  Fenelon.  —  Passion  of  Frontenac. — 
Perrot  on  Trial.  —  Strange  Scenes.  —  Appeal  to  the  King.  — 
Answers  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Colbert.  —  Fenelon  rebuked. 

Not  long  before  Frontenac's  arrival,  Courcelle, 
his  predecessor,  went  to  Lake  Ontario  with  an 
armed  force,  in  order  to  impose  respect  on  the 
Iroquois,  who  had  of  late  become  insolent.  As  a 
means  of  keeping  them  in  check,  and  at  the  same 
time  controlling  the  fur  trade  of  the  upper  coun- 
try, he  had  recommended,  like  Talon  before  him, 
the  building  of  a  fort  near  the  outlet  of  the  lake. 
Frontenac  at  once  saw  the  advantages  of  such  a 
measure,  and  his  desire  to  execute  it  was  stimu- 
lated by  the  reflection  that  the  proposed  fort  might 
be  made  not  only  a  safeguard  to  the  colony,  but 
also  a  source  of  profit  to  himself. 

At  Quebec,  there  was  a  grave,  thoughtful,  self- 
contained  young  man,  who  soon  found  his  way 
into  Frontenac' s  confidence.  There  was  between 
them  the  sympathetic  attraction  of  two  bold  and 


1673.]  FORT  FRONTENAC.  27 

energetic  spirits ;  and  though  Cavelier  cle  la  Salle 
had  neither  the  irritable  vanity  of  the  count,  nor 
his  Gallic  vivacity  of  passion,  he  had  in  full  meas- 
ure the  same  unconquerable  pride  and  hardy  reso- 
lution. There  were  but  two  or  three  men  in 
Canada  who  knew  the  western  wilderness  so  well. 
He  was  full  of  schemes  of  ambition  and  of  gain  ; 
and,  from  this  moment,  he  and  Frontenac  seem  to 
have  formed  an  alliance,  which  ended  only  with 
the  governor's  recall. 

In  telling  the  story  of  La  Salle,  I  have  described 
the  execution  of  the  new  plan :  the  muster  of  the 
Canadians,  at  the  call  of  Frontenac  ;  the  consterna- 
tion of  those  of  the  merchants  whom  he  and  La 
Salle  had  not  taken  into  their  counsels,  and  who 
saw  in  the  movement  the  preparation  for  a  gigan- 
tic fur  trading  monopoly  ;  the  intrigues  set  on  foot 
to  bar  the  enterprise  ;  the  advance  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence ;  the  assembly  of  Iroquois  at  the  destined 
spot ;  the  ascendency  exercised  over  them  by  the 
governor ;  the  building  of  Fort  Frontenac  on  the 
ground  where  Kingston  now  stands,  and  its  final 
transfer  into  the  hands  of  La  Salle,  on  condition, 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  of  sharing  the  expected 
profits   with  his  patron.1 

On  the  way  to  the  lake,  Frontenac  stopped  for 
some  time  at  Montreal,  where  he  had  full  opportu- 
nity to  become  acquainted  with  a  state  of  things 
to  which  his  attention  had  already  been  directed. 
This  state  of  things  was  as  follows  :  — 

When  the  intenclant,  Talon,  came  for  the  second 

1  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  chap.  vi. 


28  EROXTENAC  AND  PERROT.  [1669-73. 

time  to  Canada,  in  16G9,  an  officer  named  Perrot, 
who  had  married  his  niece,  came  with  him.  Perrot, 
anxious  to  turn  to  account  the  influence  of  his  wife's 
relative,  looked  about  him  for  some  post  of  honor 
and  profit,  and  quickly  discovered  that  the  govern- 
ment of  Montreal  was  vacant.  The  priests  of  St. 
Sulpice,  feudal  owners  of  the  place,  had  the  right 
of  appointing  their  own  governor.  Talon  advised 
them  to  choose  Perrot,  who  thereupon  received 
the  desired  commission,  which,  however,  was  re- 
vocable at  the  will  of  those  who  had  granted  it. 
The  new  governor,  therefore,  begged  another  com- 
mission from  the  king,  and  after  a  little  delay  he 
obtained  it.  Thus  he  became,  in  some  measure, 
independent  of  the  priests,  who,  if  they  wished  to 
rid  themselves  of  him,  must  first  gain  the  royal 
consent. 

Perrot,  as  he  had  doubtless  foreseen,  found  him- 
self in  an  excellent  position  for  making  money. 
The  tribes  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  all  the  neigh- 
boring regions,  brought  down  their  furs  every 
summer  to  the  annual  fair  at  Montreal.  Perrot 
took  his  measures  accordingly.  On  the  island 
which  still  bears  his  name,  lying  above  Mont- 
real and  directly  in  the  route  of  the  descending 
savages,  he  built  a  storehouse,  and  placed  it  in 
charge  of  a  retired  lieutenant  named  Brucy,  who 
stopped  the  Indians  on  their  way,  and  carried  on 
an  active  trade  with  them,  to  the  great  profit  of 
himself  and  his  associate,  and  the  great  loss  of  the 
merchants  in  the  settlements  below.  This  was  not 
all.     Perrot  connived  at  the  desertion  of  his  own 


1673.]  TYRANNY  OF  PERROT.  *29 

soldiers,  who  escaped  to  the  woods,  became  cou~ 
reurs  de  bois,  or  bush-rangers,  traded  with  the 
Indians  in  their  villages,  and  shared  their  gains 
with  their  commander.  Many  others,  too,  of  these 
forest  rovers,  outlawed  by  royal  edicts,  found  in 
the  governor  of  Montreal  a  protector,  under  simi- 
lar conditions. 

The  journey  from  Quebec  to  Montreal  often 
consumed  a  fortnight.  Perrot  thought  himself 
virtually  independent ;  and  relying  on  his  commis- 
sion from  the  king,  the  protection  of  Talon,  and 
his  connection  with  other  persons  of  influence,  he 
felt  safe  in  his  position,  and  began  to  play  the 
petty  tyrant.  The  judge  of  Montreal,  and  several 
of  the  chief  inhabitants,  came  to  offer  a  humble 
remonstrance  against  disorders  committed  by  some 
of  the  ruffians  in  his  interest.  Perrot  received 
them  with  a  storm  of  vituperation,  and  presently 
sent  the  judge  to  prison.  This  proceeding  was 
followed  by  a  series  of  others,  closely  akin  to  it,  so 
that  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice,  who  received  their 
full  share  of  official  abuse,  began  to  repent  bitterly 
of  the  governor  they  had  chosen. 

Frontenac  had  received  stringent  orders  from 
the  king  to  arrest  all  the  bush-rangers,  or  coareurs 
de  bois  ;  but,  since  he  had  scarcely  a  soldier  at  his 
disposal,  except  his  own  body-guard,  the  order  was 
difficult  to  execute.  As,  however,  most  of  these 
outlaws  were  in  the  service  of  his  rival,  Perrot,  his 
zeal  to  capture  them  rose  high  against  every  ob- 
stacle. He  had,  moreover,  a  plan  of  his  own  in 
regard  to   them,  and  had  already  petitioned  the 


30  FRONTENAC   AND  PERROT.  [1673. 

minister  for  a  galley,  to  the  benches  of  which  the 
captive  bush-rangers  were  to  be  chained  as  rowers, 
thus  supplying  the  representative  of  the  king  with 
a  means  of  transportation  befitting  his  dignity,  and 
at  the  same  time  giving  wholesome  warning  against 
the  infraction  of  royal  edicts.1  Accordingly,  he 
sent  orders  to  the  judge,  at  Montreal,  to  seize 
every  coureur  de  bois  on  whom  he  could  lay  hands. 

The  judge,  hearing  that  two  of  the  most  notori- 
ous were  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  lieutenant  named 
Carion,  sent  a  constable  to  arrest  them  ;  where- 
upon Carion  threatened  and  maltreated  the  officer 
of  justice,  and  helped  the  men  to  escape.  Perrot 
took  the  part  of  his  lieutenant,  and  told  the  judge 
that  he  would  put  him  in  prison,  in  spite  of  Fron- 
tenac,  if  he  ever  dared  to  attempt  such  an  arrest 
again.2 

When  Frontenac  heard  what  had  happened,  his 
ire  was  doubly  kindled.  On  the  one  hand,  Perrot 
had  violated  the  authority  lodged  by  the  king  in 
the  person  of  his  representative ;  and,  on  the 
other,  the  mutinous  official  was  a  rival  in  trade, 
who  had  made  great  and  illicit  profits,  while  his 
superior  had,  thus  far,  made  none.  As  a  governor 
and  as  a  man,  Frontenac  was  deeply  moved ;  yet, 
helpless  as  he  was,  he  could  do  no  more  than  send 
three  of  his  guardsmen,  under  a  lieutenant  named 
Bizard,  with  orders  to  arrest  Carion  and  bring 
him  to  Quebec. 

The  commission  was  delicate.     The  arrest  was 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  2  Nov.,  1672. 

2  Mimoire  des  Motifs  qui  ont  oblige'  M.  le  Comte  de  Frontenac  de  /aire 
aireter  le  Sieur  Perrot. 


1673]  PERROT  ALARMED.  31 

to  be  made  in  the  dominions  of  Perrot,  who  had 
the  means  to  prevent  it,  and  the  audacity  to  use 
them.  Bizard  acted  accordingly.  He  went  to 
Carion's  house,  and  took  him  prisoner ;  then  pro- 
ceeded to  the  house  of  the  merchant  Le  Ber, 
where  he  left  a  letter,  in  which  Frontenac,  as  was 
the  usage  on  such  occasions,  gave  notice  to  the 
local  governor  of  the  arrest  he  had  ordered.  It 
was  the  object  of  Bizard  to  escape  with  his  pris- 
oner before  Perrot  could  receive  the  letter ;  but, 
meanwhile,  the  wife  of  Carion  ran  to  him  with  the 
news,  and  the  governor  suddenly  arrived,  in  a 
frenzy  of  rage,  followed  by  a  sergeant  and  three 
or  four  soldiers.  The  sergeant  held  the  point  of 
his  halberd  against  the  breast  of  Bizard,  while  Per- 
rot, choking  with  passion,  demanded,  "  How  dare 
you  arrest  an  officer  in  my  government  without 
my  leave  ?  "  The  lieutenant  replied  that  he  acted 
under  orders  of  the  governor-general,  and  gave 
Frontenac's  letter  to  Perrot,  who  immediately 
threw  it  into  his  face,  exclaiming  :  "  Take  it  back 
to  your  master,  and  tell  him  to  teach  you  your 
business  better  another  time.  Meanwhile  you  are 
my  prisoner."  Bizard  protested  in  vain.  He  was 
led  to  jail,  whither  he  was  followed  a  few  days 
after  by  Le  Ber,  who  had  mortally  offended  Per- 
rot by  signing  an  attestation  of  the  scene  he  had 
witnessed.  As  he  was  the  chief  merchant  of  the 
place,  his  arrest  produced  a  great  sensation,  while 
his  wife  presently  took  to  her  bed  with  a  nervous 
fever. 

As  Perrot's  anger  cooled,  he  became  somewhat 


32  FROXTEXAC   AND  PERROT.  [1673. 

alarmed.  He  had  resisted  the  royal  authority,  and 
insulted  its  representative.  The  consequences 
might  be  serious ;  yet  he  could  not  bring  himself 
to  retrace  his  steps.  He  merely  released  Bizard, 
and  sullenly  permitted  him  to  depart,  with  a  letter 
to  the  governor-general,  more  impertinent  than 
apologetic.1 

Frontenac,  as  his  enemies  declare,  was  accus- 
tomed, when  enraged,  to  foam  at  the  mouth.  Per- 
haps he  did  so  when  he  learned  the  behavior  of 
Perrot.  If  he  had  had  at  command  a  few  compa- 
nies of  soldiers,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  he 
would  have  gone  at  once  to  Montreal,  seized  the 
offender,  and  brought  him  back  in  irons ;  but  his 
body-guard  of  twenty  men  was  not  equal  to  such 
an  enterprise.  Nor  would  a  muster  of  the  militia 
have  served  his  purpose  ;  for  the  settlers  about 
Quebec  were  chiefly  peaceful  peasants,  while  the 
denizens  of  Montreal  were  disbanded  soldiers,  fur 
traders,  and  forest  adventurers,  the  best  fighters  in 
Canada.  They  were  nearly  all  in  the  interest  of 
Perrot,  who,  if  attacked,  had  the  temper  as  well 
as  the  ability  to  make  a  passionate  resistance. 
Thus  civil  war  would  have  ensued,  and  the  anger 
of  the  king  would  have  fallen  on  both  parties.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  Perrot  were  left  unpunished,  the 
conreurs  de  bois,  of  whom  he  was  the  patron, 
would  set  no  bounds  to  their  audacity,  and  Fron- 
tenac, who  had  been  ordered  to  suppress  them, 
would  be  condemned  as  negligent  or  incapable. 

Among  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice  at  Montreal 

1  Jlemoire  des  Motifs,  etc. 


1674.]  abb£  fenelon.  33 

was  the  Abbe  Salignac  cle  Fenelon,  half-brother  of 
the  celebrated  author  of  Telemaque.  He  was  a 
zealous  missionary,  enthusiastic  and  impulsive,  still 
young,  and  more  ardent  than  discreet.  One  of  his 
uncles  had  been  the  companion  of  Frontenac  dur- 
ing the  Candian  war,  and  hence  the  count's  rela- 
tions with  the  missionary  had  been  very  friendly. 
Frontenac  now  wrote  to  Perrot,  directing  him  to 
come  to  Quebec  and  give  account  of  his  conduct ; 
and  he  coupled  this  letter  with  another  to  Fenelon, 
urging  him  to  represent  to  the  offending  governor 
the  clanger  of  his  position,  and  advise  him  to  seek 
an  interview  with  his  superior,  by  which  the  diffi- 
culty might  be  amicably  adjusted.  Perrot,  dread- 
ing the  displeasure  of  the  king,  soothed  by  the 
moderate  tone  of  Frontenac's  letter,  and  moved 
by  the  assurances  of  the  enthusiastic  abbe,  who 
was  delighted  to  play  the  part  of  peace-maker,  at 
length  resolved  to  follow  his  counsel.  It  was  mid- 
winter. Perrot  and  Fenelon  set  out  together, 
walked  on  snow-shoes  a  hundred  and  eighty  miles 
down  the  frozen  St.  Lawrence,  and  made  their 
appearance  before  the  offended  count. 

Frontenac,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  had  never 
intended  that  Perrot,  once  in  his  power,  should  re- 
turn to  Montreal  as  its  governor  ;  but  that,  beyond 
this,  he  meant  harm  to  him,  there  is  not  the  least 
proof.  Perrot,  however,  was  as  choleric  and  stub- 
born as  the  count  himself  ;  and  his  natural  disposi- 
tion had  not  been  improved  by  several  years  of 
petty  autocracy  at  Montreal.  Their  interview  was 
brief,  but  stormy.     When  it  ended,  Perrot  was  a 

3 


34  FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT.  [1674. 

prisoner  in  the  chateau,  with  guards  placed  over 
him  by  day  and  night.  Frontenac  made  choice  of 
one  La  Nouguere,  a  retired  officer,  whom  he  knew 
that  he  could  trust,  and  sent  him  to  Montreal 
to  command  in  place  of  its  captive  gover- 
nor. With  him  he  sent  also  a  judge  of  his  own 
selection.  La  Nouguere  set  himself  to  his  work 
with  vigor.  Perrot's  agent  or  partner,  Brucy,  was 
seized,  tried,  and  imprisoned ;  and  an  active  hunt 
was  begun  for  his  coureurs  de  bois.  Among  others, 
the  two  who  had  been  the  occasion  of  the  dispute 
were  captured  and  sent  to  Quebec,  where  one  of 
them  was  solemnly  hanged  before  the  window  of 
Perrot's  prison ;  with  the  view,  no  doubt,  of  pro- 
ducing a  chastening  effect  on  the  mind  of  the 
prisoner.  The  execution  was  fully  authorized,  a 
royal  edict  having  ordained  that  bush-ranging  was 
an  offence  punishable  with  death.1  As  the  result 
of  these  proceedings,  Frontenac  reported  to  the 
minister  that  only  five  coureurs  de  bois  remained 
at  large ;  all  the  rest  having  returned  to  the  settle- 
ments and  made  their  submission,  so  that  farther 
hanging  was  needless. 

Thus  the  central  power  was  vindicated,  and 
Montreal  brought  down  from  her  attitude  of  par- 
tial independence.  Other  results  also  followed,  if 
we  may  believe  the  enemies  of  Frontenac,  who  de- 
clare that,  by  means  of  the  new  commandant 
and  other  persons  in  his  interest,  the  governor- 
general  possessed  himself  of  a  great  part  of  the 
trade  from  which  he  had  ejected  Perrot,  and  that 

1  Edits  et  Ordonnances.  I.  73. 


1674.]  EXCITEMENT  AT   ST.  SULPICE.  35 

the  coareurs  de  bois,  whom  he  hanged  when  break- 
ing laws  for  his  rival,  found  complete  impunity 
when  breaking  laws  for  him. 

Meanwhile,  there  was  a  deep  though  subdued 
excitement  among  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice.  The. 
right  of  naming  their  own  governor,  which  they 
claimed  as  seigniors  of  Montreal,  had  been  violated 
by  the  action  of  Frontenac  in  placing  La  Nouguere 
in  command  without  consulting  them.  Perrot  was 
a  bad  governor ;  but  it  was  they  who  had  chosen 
him,  and  the  recollection  of  his  misdeeds  did  not 
reconcile  them  to  a  successor  arbitrarily  imposed 
upon  them.  Both  they  and  the  colonists,  their 
vassals,  were  intensely  jealous  of  Quebec;  and,  in 
their  indignation  against  Frontenac,  they  more 
than  half  forgave  Perrot.  None  among  them  all 
was  so  angry  as  the  Abbe*  Fenelon.  He  believed 
that  he  had  been  used  to  lure  Perrot  into  a  trap ; 
and  his  past  attachment  to  the  governor-general 
was  turned  into  wrath.  High  words  had  passed 
between  them;  and,  when  Fenelon  returned  to 
Montreal,  he  vented  his  feelings  in  a  sermon  plainly 
levelled  at  Frontenac.1  So  sharp  and  bitter  was 
it,  that  his  brethren  of  St.  Sulpice  hastened  to  dis- 
claim it;  and  Dollier  de  Casson,  their  Superior, 
strongly  reproved  the  preacher,  who  protested  in 
return  that  his  words  were  not  meant  to  apply  to 
Frontenac  in  particular,  but  only  to  bad  rulers  in 
general.  His  offences,  however,  did  not  cease 
with  the  sermon ;  for  he  espoused  the  cause  of 

1  Information  faite  par  nous,  Charles  le  Tardieu,  Sieur  de  Tilly.     Tilly 
was  a  commissioner  sent  by  the  council  to  inquire  into  the  affair. 


36  FRONTENAC   AND  PERROT.  [1674. 

Perrot  with  more  than  zeal,  and  went  about  among 
the  colonists  to  collect  attestations  in  his  favor. 
When  these  things  were  reported  to  Frontenac, 
his  ire  was  kindled,  and  he  summoned  Fenelon  be- 
fore the  council  at  Quebec  to  answer  the  charge 
of  instigating  sedition. 

Fenelon  had  a  relative  and  friend  in  the  person 
of  the  Abbe  d'Urfe,  his  copartner  in  the  work  of 
the  missions.  D'Urfe,  anxious  to  conjure  down 
the  rising  storm,  went  to  Quebec  to  seek  an  inter- 
view with  Frontenac  ;  but,  according  to  his  own 
account,  he  was  very  ill  received,  and  threatened 
with  a  prison.  On  another  occasion,  the  count 
showed  him  a  letter  in  which  D'Urfe  was  charged 
with  haying  used  abusive  language  concerning 
him.  Warm  words  ensued,  till  Frontenac,  grasp- 
ing his  cane,  led  the  abbe  to  the  door  and  dis- 
missed him,  berating  him  from  the  top  of  the 
stairs  in  tones  so  angry  that  the  sentinel  below 
spread  the  report  that  he  had  turned  his  visitor 
out  of  doors.1 

Two  offenders  were  now  arraigned  before  the 
council  of  Quebec  :  the  first  was  Perrot,  charged 
.with  disobeying  the  royal  edicts  and  resisting  the 
royal  authority ;  the  other  was  the  Abbe  Fenelon. 
The  councillors  were  at  this  time  united  in  the 
interest  of  Frontenac,  who  had  the  power  of  ap- 
pointing and  removing  them.  Perrot,  in  no  way 
softened  by  a  long  captivity,  challenged  the  gov- 
ernor-general, who  presided  at  the  council  board, 
as  a  party  to  the  suit  and  his  personal  enemy,  and 

1  Mtmoire  de  M.  d'Urf€  a  Colbert,  extracts  in  Faillon. 


1674.]  EXCITEMENT  OF  FENELON.  37 

took  exception  to  several  of  the  members  as  being 
connections  of  La  Nouguere.  Frontenac  with- 
drew, and  other  councillors  or  judges  were 
appointed  provisionally ;  but  these  were  chal- 
lenged in  turn  by  the  prisoner,  on  one  pretext 
or  another.  The  exceptions  were  overruled,  and 
the  trial  proceeded,  though  not  without  signs  of 
doubt  and  hesitation  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
councillors.1 

Meanwhile,  other  sessions  were  held  for  the  trial 
of  Fenelon ;  and  a  curious  scene  ensued.  Five 
councillors  and  the  deputy  attorney-general  were 
seated  at  the  board,  with  Frontenac  as  presiding 
judge,  his  hat  on  his  head  and  his  sword  at  his 
side,  after  the  established  custom.  Fenelon,  being 
led  in,  approached  a  vacant  chair,  and  was  about 
to  seat  himself  with  the  rest,  when  Frontenac  in- 
terposed, telling  him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  remain 
standing  while  answering  the  questions  of  the 
council.  Fenelon  at  once  placed  himself  in  the 
chair,  and  replied  that  priests  had  the  right  to 
speak  seated  and  with  heads  covered. 

"Yes,"  returned  Frontenac,  "when  they  are 
summoned  as  witnesses,  but  not  when  they  are 
cited  to  answer  charges  of  crime." 

"My  crimes  exist  nowhere  but  in  your  head," 
replied  the  abbe.  And,  putting  on  his  hat,  he 
drew  it  down  over  his  brows,  rose,  gathered  his 
cassock  about  him,  and  walked  in  a  defiant  manner 


1  All  the  proceedings  in  the  affair  of  Perrot  will  be  found  in  full  in 
the  Registre  des  Jugements  et  Deliberations  du  Conseil  Supe'rieur.  They 
extend  from  the  end  of  January  to  the  beginning  of  November,  1674. 


38  FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT.  [1674. 

to  and  fro.  Frontenac  told  him  that  his  conduct 
was  wanting  in  respect  to  the  council,  and  to  the 
governor  as  its  head.  Fenelon  several  times  took 
off  his  hat,  and  pushed  it  on  again  more  angrily 
than  ever,  saying  at  the  same  time  that  Frontenac 
was  wanting  in  respect  to  his  character  of  priest, 
in  citing  him  before  a  civil  tribunal.  As  he  per- 
sisted in  his  refusal  to  take  the  required  attitude, 
he  was  at  length  tolcl  that  he  might  leave  the 
room.  After  being  kept  for  a  time  in  the  ante- 
room in  charge  of  a  constable,  he  was  again 
brought  before  the  council,  when  he  still  refused 
obedience,  and  was  ordered  into  a  sort  of  honorable 
imprisonment.1 

This  behavior  of  the  effervescent  abbe,  which 
Frontenac  justly  enough  characterizes  as  unworthy 
of  his  birth  and  his  sacred  office,  was,  nevertheless, 
founded  on  a  claim  sustained  by  many  precedents. 
As  an  ecclesiastic,  Fenelon  insisted  that  the  bishop 
alone,  and  not  the  council,  had  the  right  to  judge  him. 
Like  Perrot,  too,  he  challenged  his  judges  as  parties 
to  the  suit,  or  otherwise  interested  against  him.  On 
the  question  of  jurisdiction,  he  had  all  the  priests 
on  his  side.  Bishop  Laval  was  in  France  ;  and 
Bernieres,  his  grand  vicar,  was  far  from  filling  the 
place  of  the  strenuous  and  determined  prelate. 
Yet  the  ecclesiastical  storm  rose  so  high  that  the 
councillors,  discouraged  and  daunted,  were  no 
longer  amenable  to  the  will  of  Frontenac ;  and  it 
was  resolved  at  last  to  refer  the  whole  matter  to 

1  Conteste  entre  le  Gouverneur  et  I' Abbe  de  Fenelon ;  Jugements  et  Delibera- 
tions du  Conseil  Supe'rieur,  21  Aout,  1674. 


1674.]  APPEAL  TO   THE  KING.  39 

the  king.  Perrot  was  taken  from  the  prison,  which 
he  had  occupied  from  January  to  November,  and 
shipped  for  France,  along  with  Fenelon.  An  im- 
mense mass  of  papers  was  sent  with  them  for  the 
instruction  of  the  king ;  and  Frontenac  wrote  a 
long  despatch,  in  which  he  sets  forth  the  offences  of 
Perrot  and  Fenelon,  the  pretensions  of  the  ecclesi- 
astics, the  calumnies  he  had  incurred  in  his  efforts 
to  serve  his  Majesty,  and  the  insults  heaped  upon 
him,  "  which  no  man  but  me  would  have  endured 
so  patiently."  Indeed,  while  the  suits  were  pend- 
ing before  the  council,  he  had  displayed  a  calmness 
and  moderation  which  surprised  his  opponents. 
"  Knowing  as  I  do,"  he  pursues,  "  the  cabals  and 
intrigues  that  are  rife  here,  I  must  expect  that 
every  thing  will  be  said  against  me  that  the  most 
artful  slander  can  devise.  A  governor  in  this  coun- 
try would  greatly  deserve  pity,  if  he  were  left 
without  support ;  and,  even  should  he  make  mis- 
takes, it  would  surely  be  very  pardonable,  seeing 
that  there  is  no  snare  that  is  not  spread  for  him, 
and  that,  after  avoiding  a  hundred  of  them,  he  will 
hardly  escape  being  caught  at  last."  * 

In  his  charges  of  cabal  and  intrigue,  Frontenac 
had  chiefly  in  view  the  clergy,  whom  he  pro- 
foundly distrusted,  excepting  always  the  Eecollet 
friars,  whom  he  befriended  because  the  bishop  and 
the  Jesuits  opposed  them.  The  priests  on  their 
part  declare  that  he  persecuted  them,  compelled 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  14  Nov.,  1674.  In  a  preceding  letter,  sent  by 
way  of  Boston,  and  dated  16  February,  he  says  that  he  could  not  suffer 
Perrot  to  go  unpunished  without  injury  to  the  regal  authority,  which 
he  is  resolved  to  defend  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood. 


40  FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT.  [1675. 

them  to  take  passports  like  laymen  when  travel- 
ling about  the  colony,  and  even  intercepted  their 
letters.  These  accusations  and  many  others  were 
carried  to  the  king  and  the  minister  by  the  Abbe 
d'Urfe,  who  sailed  in  the  same  ship  with  Fenelon. 
The  moment  was  singularly  auspicious  to  him. 
His  cousin,  the  Marquise  d'Allegre,  was  on  the 
point  of  marrying  Seignelay,  the  son  of  the  minis- 
ter Colbert,  who,  therefore,  was  naturally  inclined 
to  listen  with  favor  to  him  and  to  Fenelon,  his 
relative.  Again,  Talon,  uncle  of  Perrot's  wife, 
held  a  post  at  court,  which  brought  him  into  close 
personal  relations  with  the  king.  Nor  were  these 
the  only  influences  adverse  to  Frontenac  and  pro- 
pitious to  his  enemies.  Yet  his  enemies  were  dis- 
appointed. The  letters  written  to  him  both  by 
Colbert  and  by  the  king  are  admirable  for  calm- 
ness and  dignity.  The  following  is  from  that  of 
the  king :  — 

"  Though  I  do  not  credit  all  that  has  been  told 
me  concerning  various  little  annoyances  which  you 
cause  to  the  ecclesiastics,  I  nevertheless  think  it 
necessary  to  inform  you  of  it,  in  order  that,  if 
true,  you  may  correct  yourself  in  this  particular, 
giving  to  all  the  clergy  entire  liberty  to  go  and 
come  throughout  all  Canada  without  compelling 
them  to  take  out  passports,  and  at  the  same  time 
leaving  them  perfect  freedom  as  regards  their 
letters.  I  have  seen  and  carefully  examined  all 
that  you  have  sent  touching  M.  Perrot ;  and,  after 
having  also  seen  all  the  papers  given  by  him 
in  his  defence,  I  have  condemned  his  action  in 


1675.]  ANSWER   OF  LOUIS  XIV.  41 

imprisoning  an  officer  of  your  guard.  To  punish 
him,  I  have  had  him  placed  for  a  short  time  in  the 
Bastile,  that  he  may  learn  to  be  more  circumspect 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  that  his  example 
may  serve  as  a  warning  to  others.  But  after 
having  thus  vindicated  my  authority,  which  has 
been  violated  in  your  person,  I  will  say,  in  order 
that  you  may  fully  understand  my  views,  that  you 
should  not  without  absolute  necessity  cause  your 
commands  to  be  executed  within  the  limits  of  a 
local  government,  like  that  of  Montreal,  without 
first  informing  its  governor,  and  also  that  the  ten 
months  of  imprisonment  which  you  have  made 
him  undergo  seems  to  me  sufficient  for  his  fault. 
I  therefore  sent  him  to  the  Bastile  merely  as  a 
public  reparation  for  having  violated  my  author- 
ity. After  keeping  him  there  a  few  days,  I  shall 
send  him  back  to  his  government,  ordering  him 
first  to  see  you  and  make  apology  to  you  for  all 
that  has  passed ;  after  which  I  desire  that  you  re- 
tain no  resentment  against  him,  and.  that  you  treat 
him  in  accordance  with  the  powers  that  I  have 
given  him."  1 

Colbert  writes  in  terms  equally  measured,  and 
adds :  "  After  having  spoken  in  the  name  of  his 
Majesty,  pray  let  me  add  a  word  in  my  own.  By 
the  marriage  which  the  king  has  been  pleased  to 
make  between  the  heiress  of  the  house  of  Allegre 
and  my  son,  the  Abbe  d'Urfe  has  become  very 
closely  connected  with  me,  since  he  is  cousin  ger- 
man  of  my  daughter-in-law ;  and  this  induces  me 

1  Le  Roi  a  Frontenac,  22  Avril,  1675. 


42  FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 


[1675. 


to  request  you  to  show  him  especial  consideration, 
though,  in  the  exercise  of  his  profession,  he  will 
rarely  have  occasion  to  see  you." 

As  D'Urfe  had  lately  addressed  a  memorial  to 
Colbert,  in  which  the  conduct  of  Frontenac  is 
painted  in  the  darkest  colors,  the  almost  imper- 
ceptible rebuke  couched  in  the  above  lines  does 
no  little  credit  to  the  tact  and  moderation  of  the 
stern  minister. 

Colbert  next  begs  Frontenac  to  treat  with  kind- 
ness the  priests  of  Montreal,  observing  that  Breton- 
villiers,  their  Superior  at  Paris,  is  his  particular 
friend.  "  As  to  M.  Perrot,"  he  continues,  "  since 
ten  months  of  imprisonment  at  Quebec  and  three 
weeks  in  the  Bastile  may  suffice  to  atone  for  his 
fault,  and  since  also  he  is  related  or  connected  with 
persons  for  whom  I  have  a  great  regard,  I  pray 
you  to  accept  kindly  the  apologies  which  he  will 
make  you,  and,  as  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  he  will 
fall  again  into  any  offence  approaching  that  which 
he  has  committed,  you  will  give  me  especial  pleas- 
ure in  granting  him  the  honor  of  your  favor  and 
friendship."  1 

Fenelon,  though  the  recent  marriage  had  allied 
him  also  to  Colbert,  fared  worse  than  either  of  the 
other  parties  to  the  dispute.  He  was  indeed  sus- 
tained in  his  claim  to  be  judged  by  an  ecclesiastical 
tribunal ;  but  his  Superior,  Bretonvilliers,  forbade 
him  to  return  to  Canada,  and  the  king  approved 
the  prohibition.  Bretonvilliers  wrote  to  the  Sul- 
pitian  priests  of  Montreal :  "  I  exhort  you  to  profit 

1  Colbert  a  Frontenac,  13  Mai,  1675. 


1675.]  FENELON  EEBUKED.  43 

by  the  example  of  M.  de  Fenelon.  By  having 
busied  himself  too  much  in  worldly  matters,  and 
meddled  with  what  did  not  concern  him,  he  has 
ruined  his  own  prospects  and  injured  the  friends 
whom  he  wished  to  serve.  In  matters  of  this  sort, 
it  is  well  always  to  stand  neutral."  l 

1  Lettre  de  Bretonvilliers,  7  Mai,  1675 ;  extract  in  Faillon.  Fenelon, 
though  wanting  in  prudence  and  dignity,  had  been  an  ardent  and 
devoted  missionary.  In  relation  to  these  disputes,  I  have  received  much 
aid  from  the  research  of  Abbe  Faillon,  and  from  the  valuable  paper  of 
Abbe  Verreau,  Les  deux  Abbes  de  Fenelon,  printed  in  the  Canadian 
Journal  de  V 'Instruction  Publique,  Vol.  VIII.. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1675-1682. 

FRONTENAC  AND   DUCHESNEAU. 

Frontenac  receives  a  Colleague.  —  He  opposes  the  Clergy.  — 
Disputes  in  the  Council.  —  Royal  Intervention. — Frontenac 
rebuked. — Fresh  Outbreaks.  —  Charges  and  Countercharges. 

—  The  Dispute  grows  hot.  —  Duchesneau  condemned  and 
Frontenac  warned.  —  The  Quarrel  continues.  —  The  King 
loses  Patience.  —  More  Accusations.  —  Factions  and  Feuds. 

—  A  Side  Quarrel.  —  The  King  threatens.  —  Frontenac  de- 
nounces the  Priests.  —  The  Governor  and  the  Intendant 
recalled.  —  Qualities  of  Frontenac. 

While  writing  to  Frontenac  in  terms  of  studied 
mildness,  the  king  and  Colbert  took  measures  to 
curb  his  power.  In  the  absence  of  the  bishop,  the 
appointment  and  removal  of  councillors  had  rested 
wholly  with  the  governor ;  and  hence  the  council 
had  been  docile  under  his  will.  It  was  now  or- 
dained that  the  councillors  should  be  appointed  by 
the  king  himself.1  This  was  not  the  only  change. 
Since  the  departure  of  the  intendant  Talon,  his 
office  had  been  vacant ;  and  Frontenac  was  left  to 
rule  alone.  This  seems  to  have  been  an  experi- 
ment on  the  part  of  his  masters  at  Versailles,  who, 
knowing  the  peculiarities  of  his  temper,  were 
perhaps  willing  to  try  the  effect  of  leaving  him 
without  a  colleague.      The  experiment   had   not 

1  Edits  et  Ordonnances,  I.  84. 


1675-80.]  WAR   WITH  THE   CLERGY.  45 

succeeded.  An  intendant  was  now,  therefore, 
sent  to  Quebec,  not  only  to  manage  the  details  of 
administration,  but  also  to  watch  the  governor, 
keep  him,  if  possible,  within  prescribed  bounds, 
and  report  his  proceedings  to  the  minister.  The 
change  was  far  from  welcome  to  Frontenac,  whose 
delight  it  was  to  hold  all  the  reins  of  power  in  his 
own  hands ;  nor  was  he  better  pleased  with  the 
return  of  Bishop  Laval,  which  presently  took 
place.  Three  preceding  governors  had  quarrelled 
with  that  uncompromising  prelate  ;  and  there  was 
little  hope  that  Frontenac  and  he  would  keep  the 
peace.     All  the  signs  of  the  sky  foreboded  storm. 

The  storm  soon  came.  The  occasion  of  it  was 
that  old  vexed  question  of  the  sale  of  brandy, 
which  has  been  fully  treated  in  another  volume,1 
and  on  which  it  is  needless  to  dwell  here.  Another 
dispute  quickly  followed  ;  and  here,  too,  the  gover- 
nor's chief  adversaries  were  the  bishop  and  the 
ecclesiastics.  Duchesneau,  the  new  intendant,  took 
part  with  them.  The  bishop  and  his  clergy  were, 
on  their  side,  very  glad  of  a  secular  ally ;  for  their 
power  had  greatly  fallen  since  the  days  of  Mezy, 
and  the  rank  and  imperious  character  of  Fronte- 
nac appear  to  have  held  them  in  some  awe.  They 
avoided  as  far  as  they  could  a  direct  collision  with 
him,  and  waged  vicarious  war  in  the  person  of  their 
friend  the  intendant.  Duchesneau  was  not  of  a 
conciliating  spirit,  and  he  felt  strong  in  the  sup- 
port of  the  clergy ;  while  Frontenac,  when  his 
temper  was  roused-,  would  fight  with  haughty  and 

1  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada. 


46  FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNE AU.  [1675-80. 

impracticable  obstinacy  for  any  position  which  he 
had  once  assumed,  however  trivial  or  however  mis- 
taken. There  was  incessant  friction  between  the 
two  colleagues  in  the  exercise  of  their  respective 
functions,  and  occasions  of  difference  were  rarely 
wanting. 

The  question  now  at  issue  was  that  of  honors 
and  precedence  at  church  and  in  religious  cere- 
monies, matters  of  substantial  importance  under 
the  Bourbon  rule.  Colbert  interposed,  ordered 
Duchesneau  to  treat  Frontenac  with  becoming 
deference,  and  warned  him  not  to  make  himself 
the  partisan  of  the  bishop ; '  while,  at  the  same 
time,  he  exhorted  Frontenac  to  live  in  harmony 
with  the  intendant.2  The  dispute  continued  till 
the  king  lost  patience. 

u  Through  all  my  kingdom,"  he  wrote  to  the 
governor,  "  I  do  not  hear  of  so  many  difficulties 
on  this  matter  (of  ecclesiastical  honors)  as  I  see  in 
the  church  of  Quebec. " 3  And  he  directs  him  to 
conform  to  the  practice  established  in  the  city  of 
Amiens,  and  to  exact  no  more  ;  "  since  you  ought 
to  be  satisfied  with  being  the  representative  of  my 
person  in  the  country  where  I  have  placed  you  in 
command." 

At  the  same  time,  Colbert  corrects  the  inten- 
dant. a  A  memorial,"  he  wrote,  "  has  been  placed 
in  my  hands,  touching  various  ecclesiastical  honors, 
wherein  there  continually  appears  a  great  preten- 

1  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  1  Mai,  1677. 

2  Ibid.,  18  Mai,  1677. 

3  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  25  Avril,  1679. 


1675-80.]  THE  RECONSTRUCTED  COUNCIL.  47 

sion  on  your  part,  and  on  that  of  the  bishop  of 
Quebec  in  your  favor,  to  establish  an  equality  be- 
tween the  governor  and  you.  I  think  I  have 
already  said  enough  to  lead  you  to  know  yourself, 
and  to  understand  the  difference  between  a  gov- 
ernor and  an  intendant;  so  that  it  is  no  longer 
necessary  for  me  to  enter  into  particulars,  which 
could  only  serve  to  show  you  that  you  are  com- 
pletely in  the  wrong."  ! 

Scarcely  was  this  quarrel  suppressed,  when 
another  sprang  up.  Since  the  arrival  of  the  in- 
tendant and  the  return  of  the  bishop,  the  council 
had  ceased  to  be  in  the  interest  of  Frontenac. 
Several  of  its  members  were  very  obnoxious  to 
him  ;  and  chief  among  these  was  Villeray,  a  former 
councillor  whom  the  king  had  lately  reinstated. 
Frontenac  admitted  him  to  his  seat  with  reluc- 
tance. "I  obey  your  orders,"  he  wrote  mourn- 
fully to  Colbert ;  "  but  Villeray  is  the  principal 
and  most  dangerous  instrument  of  the  bishop  and 
the  Jesuits."  2  He  says,  farther,  that  many  people 
think  him  to  be  a  Jesuit  in  disguise,  and  that  he 
is  an  intriguing  busybody,  who  makes  trouble 
everywhere.  He  also  denounces  the  attorney- 
general,  Auteuil,  as  an  ally  of  the  Jesuits.  An- 
other of  the  reconstructed  council,  Tilly,  meets 
his  cordial  approval ;  but  he  soon  found  reason  to 
change  his  mind  concerning  him. 

The  king  had  recently  ordered  that  the  inten- 
dant, though  holding  only  the  third  rank  in  the 

1  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  8  Mai,  1G79. 

2  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  14  Nov.t  1674. 


48         FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.     [1675-80. 

council,  should  act  as  its  president.1  The  com- 
mission of  Duchesneau,  however,  empowered  him 
to  preside  only  in  the  absence  of  the  governor ; 2 
while  Frontenac  is  styled  "  chief  and  president  of 
the  council  "  in  several  of  the  despatches  addressed 
to  him.  Here  was  an  inconsistency.  Both  parties 
claimed  the  right  of  presiding,  and  both  could 
rest  their  claim  on  a  clear  expression  of  the  royal 
will. 

Frontenac  rarely  began  a  new  quarrel  till  the 
autumn  vessels  had  sailed  for  France  ;  because  a 
full  year  must  then  elapse  before  his  adversaries 
could  send  their  complaints  to  the  king,  and  six 
months  more  before  the  king  could  send  back  his 
answer.  The  governor  had  been  heard  to  say,  on 
one  of  these  occasions,  that  he  should  now  be 
master  for  eighteen  months,  subject  only  to  an- 
swering with  his  head  for  what  he  might  do.  It 
was  when  the  last  vessel  was  gone  in  the  autumn 
of  1678  that  he  demanded  to  be  styled  chief  and 
president  on  the  records  of  the  council ;  and  he 
showed  a  letter  from  the  king  in  which  he  was  so 
entitled.3  In  spite  of  this,  Duchesneau  resisted, 
and  appealed  to  precedent  to  sustain  his  position. 
A  long  series  of  stormy  sessions  followed.  The 
councillors  in  the  clerical  interest  supported  the 
intendant.  Frontenac,  chafed  and  angry,  refused 
all  compromise.     Business  was  stopped  for  weeks. 

1  Declaration  da  Roy,  23  Sept.,  1675. 

?  "  Presider  au  Conseil  Squverain  en  {'absence  du  dit  Sieur  de  Fron- 
tenac." —  Commission  de  Duchesneau,  5  Juin,  1675. 

3  This  letter,  still  preserved  in  the  Archives  de  la  Marine,  is  dated  12 
Mai,  1678.  Several  other  letters  of  Louis  XIV.  give  Frontenac  the  same 
designation. 


1675-80.]  THE   KING  INTERVENES.  49 

Duchesneau  lost  temper,  and  became  abusive. 
Auteuil  tried  to  interpose  in  behalf  of  the  inten- 
dant.  Frontenac  struck  the  table  with  his  fist,  and 
told  him  fiercely  that  he  would  teach  him  his  duty. 
Every  clay  embittered  the  strife.  The  governor 
made  the  declaration  usual  with  him  on  such  occa- 
sions, that  he  would  not  permit  the  royal  authority 
to  suffer  in  his  person.  At  length  he  banished 
from  Quebec  his  three  most  strenuous  opponents, 
Villeray,  Tilly,  and  Auteuil,  and  commanded  them 
to  remain  in  their  country  houses  till  they  re- 
ceived his  farther  orders.  All  attempts  at  com- 
promise proved  fruitless ;  and  Auteuil,  in  behalf 
of  the  exiles,  appealed  piteously  to  the  king. 

The  answer  came  in  the  following  summer: 
"  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac,''  wrote  Louis 
XIV.,  "  I  am  surprised  to  learn  all  the  new  troubles 
and  dissensions  that  have  occurred  in  my  country 
of  New  France,  more  especially  since  I  have  clearly 
and  strongly  given  you  to  understand  that  your 
sole  care  should  be  to  maintain  harmony  and  peace 
among  all  my  subjects  dwelling  therein ;  but  what 
surprises  me  still  more  is  that  in  nearly  all  the  dis- 
putes which  you  have  caused  you  have  advanced 
claims  which  have  very  little  foundation.  My 
edicts,  declarations,  and  ordinances  had  so  plainly 
made  known  to  you  my  will,  that  I  have  great 
cause  of  astonishment  that  you,  whose  duty  it  is 
to  see  them  faithfully  executed,  have  yourself  set 
up  pretensions  entirely  opposed  to  them.  You 
have  wished  to  be  styled  chief  and  president  on 
the  records  of.  the  Supreme  Council,  which  is  con- 


50         EROXTEXAC  AND  DUCHESXEAU.     [1675-80. 

trary  to  my  edict  concerning  that  council ;  and  I 
am  the  more  surprised  at  this  demand,  since  I  am 
very  sure  that  you  are  the  only  man  in  my  king- 
dom who,  being  honored  with  the  title  of  governor 
and  lieutenant-general,  would  care  to  be  styled 
chief  and  president  of  such  a  council  as  that  of 
Quebec." 

He  then  declares  that  neither  Frontenac  nor  the 
intendant  is  to  have  the  title  of  president,  but  that 
the  intendant  is  to  perform  the  functions  of  pre- 
siding officer,  as  determined  by  the  edict.  He 
continues  :  — 

"  Moreover,  your  abuse  of  the  authority  which  I 
have  confided  to  you  in  exiling  two  councillors  and 
the  attorney-general  for  so  trivial  a  cause  cannot 
meet  my  approval ;  and,  were  it  not  for  the  dis- 
tinct assurances  given  me  by  your  friends  that  you 
will  act  with  more  moderation  in  future,  and  never 
again  fall  into  offences  of  this  nature,  I  should 
have  resolved  on  recalling  you."1 

Colbert  wrote  to  him  with  equal  severity :  "  I 
have  communicated  to  the  king  the  contents  of  all 
the  despatches  which  you  have  written  to  me  dur- 
ing .  the  past  year ;  and  as  the  matters  of  which 
they  treat  are  sufficiently  ample,  including  dissen- 
sions almost  universal  among  those  whose  duty  it 
is  to  preserve  harmony  in  the  country  under  your 
command,  his  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  examine 
all  the  papers  sent  by  all  the  parties  interested, 

1  'Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  29  Avril,  1680.  A  decree  of  the  council  of 
state  soon  after  determined  the  question  of  presidency  in  accord  with 
this  letter.     Edits  et  Ordonnances,  I.  238. 


1675-80.]  FRESH  OUTBREAKS.  51 

and  more  particularly  those  appended  to  your  let- 
ters. He  has  thereupon  ordered  me  distinctly  to 
make  known  to  you  his  intentions."  The  minister 
then  proceeds  to  reprove  him  sharply  in  the  name 
of  the  king,  and  concludes :  "  It  is  difficult  for  me 
to  add  any  thing  to  what  I  have  just  said.  Consider 
well  that,  if  it  is  any  advantage  or  any  satisfaction 
to  you  that  his  Majesty  should  be  satisfied  with 
your  services,  it  is  necessary  that  you  change 
entirely  the  conduct  which  you  have  hitherto 
pursued."  l 

This,  one  would  think,  might  have  sufficed  to 
bring  the  governor  to  reason,  but  the  violence  of 
his  resentments  and  antipathies  overcame  the  very 
slender  share  of  prudence  with  which  nature  had 
endowed  him.  One  morning,  as  he  sat  at  the  head 
of  the  council  board,  the  bishop  on  his  right  hand, 
and  the  intendant  on  his  left,  a  woman  made  her 
appearance  with  a  sealed  packet  of  papers.  She 
was  the  wife  of  the  councillor  Amours,  whose  chair 
was  vacant  at  the  table.  Important  business  was 
in  hand,  the  registration  of  a  royal  edict  of  am- 
nesty to  the  courears  de  hois.  The  intendant, 
who  well  knew  what  the  packet  contained,  de- 
manded that  it  should  be  opened.  Frontenac  in- 
sisted that  the  business  before  the  council  should 


1  Colbert  a  Frontenac,  4  Dec,  1679.  This  letter  seems  to  have  been 
sent  by  a  special  messenger  by  way  of  New  England.  It  was  too  late 
in  the  season  to  send  directly  to  Canada.  On  the  quarrel  about  the 
presidency,  Duchesneau  au  Ministre,  10  Nov.,  1679 ;  Auteuil  an  Ministre, 
10  Aug.,  1679  ;  Contestations  entre  le  Sieur  Comte  de  Frontenac  et  M.  Duclu  s- 
neau,  Chevalier.  This  last  paper  consists  of  voluminous  extracts  from 
the  records  of  the  council. 


52  FRONTENAC   AXD  DTJCHESNEAU.  [1681. 

proceed.  The  intendant  renewed  his  demand,  the 
council  sustained  him,  and  the  packet  was  opened 
accordingly.  It  contained  a  petition  from  Amours, 
stating  that  Frontenac  had  put  him  in  prison,  be- 
cause, having  obtained  in  due  form  a  passport  to 
send  a  canoe  to  his  fishing  station  of  Matane,  he 
had  afterwards  sent  a  sail-boat  thither  without 
applying  for  another  passport.  Frontenac  had 
sent  for  him,  and  demanded  by  what  right  he  did 
so.  Amours  replied  that  he  believed  that  he  had 
acted  in  accordance  with  the  intentions  of  the 
king ;  whereupon,  to  borrow  the  words  of  the  peti- 
tion, "  Monsieur  the  governor  fell  into  a  rage,  and 
said  to  your  petitioner,  <  I  will  teach  you  the  inten- 
tions of  the  king,  and  you  shall  stay  in  prison  till 
you  learn  them  ; ?  and  your  petitioner  was  shut  up 
in  a  chamber  of  the  chateau,  wherein  he  still  re- 
mains." He  proceeds  to  pray  that  a  trial  may  be 
granted  him  according  to  law.1 

Discussions  now  ensued  which  lasted  for  clays, 
and  now  and  then  became  tempestuous.  The  gov- 
ernor, who  had  declared  that  the  council  had  no- 
thing to  do  with  the  matter,  and  that  he  could  not 
waste  time  in  talking  about  it,  was  not  always 
present  at  the  meetings,  and  it  sometimes  became 
necessary  to  depute  one  or  more  of  the  members 
to  visit  him.  Auteuil,  the  attorney-general,  hav- 
ing been  employed  on  this  unenviable  errand, 
begged  the  council  to  dispense  him  from  such  duty 
in  future,  "  by  reason,"  as  he  says,  "  of  the  abuse, 
ill  treatment,  and  threats  which  he  received  from 

1  Reyistre  du  Conseil  Supe'rieur,  16  Aoust,  1681. 


1681.]  CHARGES  AND   COUNTERCHARGES.  53 

Monsieur  the  governor,  when  he  last  had  the 
honor  of  being  deputed  to  confer  with  him,  the 
particulars  whereof  he  begs  to  be  excused  from 
reporting,  lest  the  anger  of  Monsieur  the  governor 
should  be  kindled  against  him  still  more."  !  Fron- 
tenac,  hearing  of  this  charge,  angrily  denied  it, 
saying  that  the  attorney-general  had  slandered 
and  insulted  him,  and  that  it  was  his  custom  to  do 
so.  Auteuil  rejoined  that  the  governor  had  ac- 
cused him  of  habitual  lying,  and  told  him  that  he 
would  have  his  hand  cut  off.  All  these  charges 
and  countercharges  may  still  be  found  entered  in 
due  form  on  the  old  records  of  the  council  at 
Quebec. 

It  was  as  usual  upon  the  intendant  that  the 
wrath  of  Frontenac  fell  most  fiercely.  He  accuses 
him  of  creating  cabals  and  intrigues,  and  causing 
not  only  the  council,  but  all  the  country,  to  forget 
the  respect  clue  to  the  representative  of  his  Majesty. 
Once,  when  Frontenac  was  present  at  the  session, 
a  dispute  arose  about  an  entry  on  the  record.  A 
draft  of  it  had  been  made  in  terms  agreeable  to  the 
governor,  who  insisted  that  the  intendant  should 
sign  it.  Duchesneau  replied  that  he  and  the  clerk 
would  go  into  the  adjoining  room,  where  they  could 
examine  it  in  peace,  and  put  it  into  a  proper  form. 
Frontenac  rejoined  that  he  would  then  have  no 
security  that  what  he  had  said  in  the  council  would 
be  accurately  reported.  Duchesneau  persisted,  and 
was  going  out  with  the  draft  in  his  hand,  when 
Frontenac  planted  himself  before  the   door,   and 

1  Registre  du  Conseil  Supfrieur,  4  Nov.,  1681. 


54         FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.     [1675-82. 

told  him  that  he  should  not  leave  the  council 
chamber  till  he  had  signed  the  paper.  "  Then  I 
will  get  out  of  the  window,  or  else  stay  here  all 
day,"  returned  Duchesneau.  A  lively  debate  en- 
sued, and  the  governor  at  length  yielded  the  point.1 
The  imprisonment  of  Amours  was  short,  but 
strife  did  not  cease.  The  disputes  in  the  council 
were  accompanied  throughout  with  other  quarrels 
which  were  complicated  with  them,  and  which 
were  worse  than  all  the  rest,  since  they  involved 
more  important  matters  and  covered  a  wider  field. 
They  related  to  the  fur  trade,  on  which  hung  the 
very  life  of  the  colony.  Merchants,  traders,  and 
even  habitants,  were  ranged  in  two  contending 
factions.  Of  one  of  these  Frontenac  was  the  chief. 
With  him  were  La  Salle  and  his  lieutenant,  La 
Foret ;  Du  Lhut,  the  famous  leader  of  coiireurs  cle 
bois  ;  Boisseau,  agent  of  the  farmers  of  the  revenue ; 
Barrois,  the  governor's  secretary ;  Bizard,  lieu- 
tenant of  his  guard ;  and  various  others  of  greater 
or  less  influence.  On  the  other  side  were  the 
members  of  the  council,  with  Aubert  de  la  Ches- 
naye,  Le  Moyne  and  all  his  sons,  Louis  Joliet, 
Jacques  Le  Ber,  Sorel,  Boucher,  Varennes,  and 
many  more,  all  supported  by  the  intendant  Duches- 
neau, and  also  by  his  fast  allies,  the  ecclesiastics. 
The  faction  under  the  lead  of  the  governor  had 
every  advantage,  for  it  was  sustained  by  all  the 
power  of  his  office.  Duchesneau  was  beside  him- 
self with  rage.  He  wrote  to  the  court  letters  full 
of  bitterness,  accused    Frontenac  of   illicit  trade, 

1  Registre  du  Conseil  Supe'rieur,  1681. 


1675-82.]  DUCHESNEAU   CONDEMNED.  55 

denounced  his  followers,  and  sent  huge  bundles 
of  proces-verbaux  and  attestations  to  prove  his 
charges. 

But  if  Duchesneau  wrote  letters,  so  too  did 
Frontenac ;  and  if  the  intendant  sent  proofs,  so  too 
did  the  governor.  Upon  the  unfortunate  king  and 
the  still  more  unfortunate  minister  fell  the  difficult 
task  of  composing  the  quarrels  of  their  servants, 
three  thousand  miles  away.  They  treated  Duches- 
neau without  ceremony.  Colbert  wrote  to  him : 
"  I  have  examined  all  the  letters,  papers,  and 
memorials  that  you  sent  me  by  the  return  of  the 
vessels  last  November,  and,  though  it  appears  by 
the  letters  of  M.  de  Frontenac  that  his  conduct 
leaves  something  to  be  desired,  there  is  assuredly 
far  more  to  blame  in  yours  than  in  his.  As  to 
what  you  say  concerning  his  violence,  his  trade 
with  the  Indians,  and  in  general  all  that  you  allege 
against  him,  the  king  has  written  to  him  his  in- 
tentions ;  but  since,  in  the  midst  of  all  your  com- 
plaints, you  say  many  things  which  are  without 
foundation,  or  which  are  no  concern  of  yours,  it 
is  difficult  to  believe  that  you  act  in  the  spirit 
which  the  service  of  the  king  demands ;  that  is  to 
say,  without  interest  and  without  passion.  If  a 
change  does  not  appear  in  your  conduct  before 
next  year,  his  Majesty  will  not  keep  you  in  your 
office."  l 

At  the  same  time,  the  king  wrote  to  Frontenac, 
alluding  to  the  complaints  of  Duchesneau,  and  ex- 
horting the  governor  to  live  on  good  terms  with 

1   Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  15  Mai,  1678. 


56         FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESXEAU.     [1675-82. 

him.  The  general  tone  of  the  letter  is  moderate, 
but  the  following  significant  warning  occurs  in  it : 
"  Although  no  gentleman  in  the  position  in  which 
I  have  placed  you  ought  to  take  part  in  any  trade, 
directly  or  indirectly,  either  by  himself  or  any  of 
his  servants,  I  nevertheless  now  prohibit  you  ab- 
solutely from  doing  so.  Not  only  abstain  from 
trade,  but  act  in  such  a  manner  that  nobody  can 
even  suspect  you  of  it ;  and  this  will  be  easy,  since 
the  truth  will  readily  come  to  light."  L 

Exhortation  and  warning  were  vain  alike.  The 
first  ships  which  returned  that  year  from  Canada 
brought  a  series  of  despatches  from  the  intendant, 
renewing  all  his  charges  more  bitterly  than  before. 
The  minister,  out  of  patience,  replied  by  berating 
him  without  mercy.  "  You  may  rest  assured,"  he 
concludes,  "  that,  did  it  not  appear  by  your  later 
despatches  that  the  letters  you  have  received  have 
begun  to  make  you  understand  that  \'ou  have  for- 
gotten yourself,  it  would  not  have  been  possible  to 
prevent  the  king  from  recalling  you."  2 

Duchesneau,  in  return,  protests  all  manner  of 
deference  to  the  governor,  but  still  insists  that  he 
sets  the  royal  edicts  at  naught ;  protects  a  host  of 
coureurs  de  bois  who  are  in  league  with  him ;  cor- 
responds with  Du  Lhut,  their  chief ;  shares  his  ille- 
gal profits,  and  causes  all  the  disorders  which  afflict 
the  colony.  "  As  for  me,  Monseigneur,  I  have 
done  every  thing  within  the  scope  of  my  office  to 
prevent  these  evils ;  but  all  the  pains  I  have  taken 

1  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  12  Mai,  1678. 

2  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  25  Avril,  1679. 


1675-82.]  DUCHESNEATJ  PERSISTS.  .  57 

have  only  served  to  increase  the  aversion  of  Mon- 
sieur the  governor  against  me,  and  to  bring  my 
ordinances  into  contempt,  This,  Monseigneur,  is 
a  true  account  of  the  disobedience  of  the  coureurs 
de  bois,  of  which  I  twice  had  the  honor  to  speak 
to  Monsieur  the  governor;  and  I  could  not  help 
telling  him,  with  all  possible  deference,  that  it  was 
shameful  to  the  colony  and  to  us  that  the  king, 
our  master,  of  whom  the  whole  world  stands  in 
awe,  who  has  just  given  law  to  all  Europe,  and 
whom  all  his  subjects  adore,  should  have  the  pain 
of  knowing  that,  in  a  country  which  has  received 
so  many  marks  of  his  ^paternal  tenderness,  his 
orders  are  violated  and  scorned ;  and  a  governor 
and  an  intenclant  stand  by,  with  folded  arms,  con- 
tent with  saying  that  the  evil  is  past  remedy.  For 
having  made  these  representations  to  him,  I  drew 
on  myself  words  so  full  of  contempt  and  insult  that 
I  was  forced  to  leave  his  room  to  appease  his 
anger.  The  next  morning  I  went  to  him  again, 
and  did  all  I  could  to  have  my  ordinances  exe- 
cuted ;  but,  as  Monsieur  the  governor  is  interested 
with  many  of  the  coureurs  de  bois,  it  is  useless  to 
attempt  to  do  any  thing.  He  has  gradually  made 
himself  master  of  the  trade  of  Montreal ;  and,  as 
soon  as  the  Indians  arrive,  he  sets  guards  in  their 
camp,  which  would  be  very  well,  if  these  soldiers 
did  their  duty  and  protected  the  savages  from 
being  annoyed  and  plundered  by  the  French,  in- 
stead of  being  employed  to  discover  how  many 
furs  they  have  brought,  with  a  view  to  future 
operations.     Monsieur  the  governor  then  compels 


58  FRONTENAC   AXD  DUCHESNEAU.  [1675-82. 

the  Indians  to  pay  his  guards  for  protecting  them ; 
and  he  has  never  allowed  them  to  trade  with 
the  inhabitants  till  they  had  first  given  him  a  cer- 
tain number  of  packs  of  beaver  skins,  which  he 
calls  his  presents.  His  guards  trade  with  them 
openly  at  the  fair,  with  their  bandoleers  on  their 
shoulders." 

He  says,  farther,  that  Frontenac  sends  up  goods 
to  Montreal,  and  employs  persons  to  trade  in  his 
behalf;  and  that,  what  with  the  beaver  skins  ex- 
acted by  him  and  his  guards  under  the  name  of 
presents,  and  those  which  he  and  his  favorites 
obtain  in  trade,  only  the  smaller  part  of  what  the 
Indians  bring  to  market  ever  reaches  the  people  of 
the  colony.1 

This  despatch,  and  the  proofs  accompanying  it, 
drew  from  the  king  a  sharp  reproof  to  Frontenac. 

"  What  has  passed  in  regard  to  the  coureurs  cle 
hois  is  entirely  contrary  to  my  orders  ;  and  I  can- 
not receive  in  excuse  for  it  your  allegation  that  it 
is  the  intend  ant  who  countenances  them  by  the 
trade  he  carries  on,  for  I  perceive  clearly  that  the 
fault  is  your  own.  As  I  see  that  you  often  turn 
the  orders  that  I  give  you  against  the  very  object 
for  which  they  are  given,  beware  not  to  do  so  on 
this  occasion.  I  shall  hold  you  answerable  for 
bringing  the  disorder  of  the  coureurs  de  bois  to 
an  end  throughout  Canada ;  and  this  you  will 
easily  succeed  in  doing,  if  you  make  a  proper  use 
of  my  authority.  Take  care  not  to  persuade  your- 
self that  what  I  write  to  you  comes  from  the  ill 

1  Duchesneau  au  Ministre,  10  Nov.,  1679. 


1675-82.]      FRONTENAC  ASKS  FOR  HELP.  59 

offices  of  the  intendant.  It  results  from  what  I 
fully  know  from  every  thing  which  reaches  me 
from  Canada,  proving  but  too  well  what  you  are 
doing  there.  The  bishop,  the  ecclesiastics,  the 
Jesuit  fathers,  the  Supreme  Council,  and,  in  a  word, 
everybody,  complain  of  you ;  but  I  am  willing  to 
believe  that  you  will  change  your  conduct,  and 
act  with  the  moderation  necessary  for  the  good  of 
the  colony."  l 

Colbert  wrote  in  a  similar  strain  ;  and  Frontenac 
saw  that  his  position  was  becoming  critical.  He 
showed,  it  is  true,  no  sign  of  that  change  of  con- 
duct which  the  king  had  demanded ;  but  he  ap- 
pealed to  his  allies  at  court  to  use  fresh  efforts  to 
sustain  him.  Among  the  rest,  he  had  a  strong 
friend  in  the  Marechal  cle  Bellefonds,  to  whom  he 
wrote,  in  the  character  of  an  abused  and  much- 
suffering  man :  "  You  exhort  me  to  have  patience, 
and  I  agree  with  you  that  those  placed  in  a  posi- 
tion of  command  cannot  have  too  much.  For  this 
reason,  I  have  given  examples  of  it  here  such  as 
perhaps  no  governor  ever  gave  before ;  and  I 
have  found  no  great  difficulty  in  doing  so,  because 
I  felt  myself  to  be  the  master.  Had  I  been  in 
a  private  station,  I  could  not  have  endured  such 
outrageous  insults  without  dishonor.  I  have  al- 
ways passed  over  in  silence  those  directed  against 
me  personally ;  and  have  never  given  way  to 
anger,  except  when  attacks  were  made  on  the 
authority  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  the 
guardian.      You    could    not  believe    all    the    an- 

i  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  29  Avril,  1680. 


"  1 


60         FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNE AU.     [1675-82. 

noyances  which  the  intendant  tries  to  put  upon 
me  every  day,  and  which,  as  you  advise  me,  I 
scorn  or  disregard.  It  would  require  a  virtue 
like  yours  to  turn  them  to  all  the  good  use  of 
which  they  are  capable ;  yet,  great  as  the  virtue 
is  which  has  enabled  you  to  possess  your  soul  in 
tranquillity  amid  all  the  troubles  of  the  court,  I 
doubt  if  you  could  preserve  such  complete  equa 
nimity  among  the  miserable  tumults  of  Canada. 

Having  given  the  principal  charges  of  Duches- 
neau  against  Frontenac,  it  is  time  to  give  those  of 
Frontenac  against  Duchesneau.  The  governor  says 
that  all  the  coureurs  de  hois  would  be  brought  to 
submission  but  for  the  intendant  and  his  allies, 
who  protect  them,  and  carry  on  trade  by  their 
means  ;  that  the  seigniorial  house  of  Duchesneau's 
partner,  La  Chesnaye,  is  the  constant  resort  of 
these  outlaws ;  and  that  he  and  his  associates  have 
large  storehouses  at  Montreal,  Isle  St.  Paul,  and 
Riviere  du  Loup,  whence  they  send  goods  into 
the  Indian  country,  in  contempt  of  the  king's 
orders.2  .  Frontenac  also  complains  of  numberless 
provocations  from  the  intendant.  "It  is  no- fault 
of  mine  that  I  am  not  on  good  terms  with  M. 
Duchesneau  ;  for  I  have  done  every  thing  I  could 
to  that  end,  being  too  submissive  to  your  Majesty's 
commands  not  to  suppress  my  sharpest  indignation 
the  moment  your  will  is  known  to  me.  But,  Sire, 
it  is  not  so  with  him ;  and  his  desire  to  excite  new 
disputes,  in  the  hope  of  making   me  appear  their 

1  Frontenac  an  Mare'chal  de  Bellefonds,  14  Nov.,  1680. 
-  Me'moire  et  Preaves  du  De'sordre  des  Coureurs  de  Bois. 


1675-82.]  THE  NEW  MINISTER.  61 

principal  author,  has  been  so  great  that  the  last 
ships  were  hardly  gone,  when,  forgetting  what 
your  Majesty  had  enjoined  upon  us  both,  he  began 
these  dissensions  afresh,  in  spite  of  all  my  precau- 
tions. If  I  depart  from  my  usual  reserve  in  regard 
to  him,  and  make  bold  to  ask  justice  at  the  hands 
of  your  Majesty  for  the  wrongs  and  insults  I  have 
undergone,  it  is  because  nothing  but  your  authority 
can  keep  them  within  bounds.  I  have  never  suf- 
fered more  in  my  life  than  when  I  have  been  made 
to  appear  as  a  man  of  violence  and  a  disturber  of 
the  officers  of  justice  :  for  I  have  always  confined 
myself  to  what  your  Majesty  has  prescribed  ;  that 
is,  to  exhorting  them  to  do  their  duty  when  I 
saw  that  they  failed  in  it.  This  has  drawn  upon 
me,  both  from  them  and  from  M.  Duchesneau, 
such  cutting  affronts  that  your  Majesty  would 
hardly  credit  them."  * 

In  1681,  Seignelay,  the  son  of  Colbert,  entered 
upon  the  charge  of  the  colonies ;  and  both  Fron- 
tenac  and  Duchesneau  hastened  to  congratulate 
him,  protest  their  devotion,  and  overwhelm  him 
with  mutual  accusations.  The  intendant  declares 
that,  out  of  pure  zeal  for  the  king's  service,  he 
shall  tell  him  every  thing.  "  Disorder,"  he  says, 
"  reigns  everywhere  ;  universal  confusion  prevails 
throughout  every  department  of  business ;  the 
pleasure  of  the  king,  the  orders  of  the  Supreme 
Council,  and  my  ordinances  remain  unexecuted  ; 
justice  is  openly  violated,  and  trade  is  destroyed ; 
violence,  upheld  by  authority,  decides  every  thing ; 

1  Frontenac  au  Roy,  2  Nov.,  1681. 


62  ERONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNE AU.  [1675-82 

and  nothing  consoles  the  people,  who  groan  with- 
out daring  to  complain,  but  the  hope,  Monseigneur, 
that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  condescend 
to  be  moved  by  their  misfortunes.  No  position 
could  be  more  distressing  than  mine,  since,  if  I 
conceal  the  truth  from  you,  I  fail  in  the  obedience 
I  owe  the  king,  and  in  the  fidelity  that  I  vowed  so 
long  since  to  Monseigneur,  your  father,  and  which 
I  swear  anew  at  your  hands ;  and  if  I  obey,  as  I 
must,  his  Majesty's  orders  and  yours,  I  cannot 
avoid  giving  offence,  since  I  cannot  render  you  an 
account  of  these  disorders  without  informing  you 
that  M.  de  Frontenac's  conduct  is  the  sole  cause  of 
them."  ' 

Frontenac  had  written  to  Seignelay  a  few  days 
before  :  "  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  M.  Du- 
chesneau  will,  as  usual,  overwhelm  me  with  fabrica- 
tions and  falsehoods,  to  cover  his  own  ill  conduct. 
I  send  proofs  to  justify  myself,  so  strong  and 
convincing  that  I  do  not  see  that  they  can  leave 
any  doubt ;  but,  since  I  fear  that  their  great  num- 
ber might  fatigue  you,  I  have  thought  it  better  to 
send  them  to  my  wife,  with  a  full  and  exact  jour- 
nal of  all  that  has  passed  here  day  by  day,  in  order 
that  she  may  extract  and  lay  before  you  the  prin- 
cipal portions. 

"  I  send  you  in  person  merely  the  proofs  of  the 
conduct  of  M.  Duchesneau,  in  barricading  his 
house  and  arming  all  his  servants,  and  in  coming 
three  weeks  ago  to  insult  me  in  my  room.  You 
will  see  thereby  to  what  a  pitch  of  temerity  and 

1  Duchesneau  au  Ministre,  13  Nov.,  1681. 


1681.]  STREET   QUARRELS.  63 

lawlessness  he  has  transported  himself,  in  order  to 
compel  me  to  use  violence  against  him,  with  the 
hope  of  justifying  what  he  has  asserted  about  my 
pretended  outbreaks  of  anger."  1 

The  mutual  charges  of  the  two  functionaries 
were  much  the  same ;  and,  so  far  at  least  as  con- 
cerns trade,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they 
were  well  founded  on  both  sides.  The  strife  of 
the  rival  factions  grew  more  and  more  bitter : 
canes  and  sticks  played  an  active  part  in  it,  and 
now  and  then  we  hear  of  drawn  swords.  One  is 
reminded  at  times  of  the  intestine  feuds  of  some 
mediaeval  city,  as,  for  example,  in  the  following  in- 
cident, which  will  explain  the  charge  of  Frontenac 
against  the  intenclant  of  barricading  his  house  and 
arming  his  servants  :  — 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  twentieth  of  March,  a 
son  of  Duchesneau,  sixteen  years  old,  followed  by 
a  servant  named  Vautier,  was  strolling  along  the 
picket  fence  which  bordered  the  descent  from  the 
Upper  to  the  Lower  Town  of  Quebec.  The  boy  was 
amusing  himself  by  singing  a  song,  when  Fronte- 
nac's  partisan,  Boisseau,  with  one  of  the  guardsmen, 
approached,  and,  as  young  Duchesneau  declares, 
called  him  foul  names,  and  said  that  he  would  give 
him  and  his  father  a  thrashing.  The  boy  replied 
that  he  would  have  nothing  to  say  to  a  fellow  like 
him,  and  would  beat  him  if  he  did  not  keep  quiet; 
while  the  servant,  Vautier,  retorted  Boisseau's 
abuse,  and  taunted  him  with  low  birth  and  dis- 
reputable employments.     Boisseau  made  report  to 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  2  Nov.,  1681. 


64  FROXTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAtT.  [1681. 

Frontenac,  and  Frontenac  complained  to  Duches- 
neau, who  sent  his  son,  with  Vautier,  to  give  the 
governor  his  version  of  the  affair.  The  bishop, 
an  ally  of  the  intend  ant,  thus  relates  what  fol- 
lowed. On  arriving  with  a  party  of  friends  at 
the  chateau,  young  Duchesneau  was  shown  into 
a  room  in  which  were  the  governor  and  his  two  sec- 
retaries, Barrois  and  Chasseur.  He  had  no  sooner 
entered  than  Frontenac  seized  him  by  the  arm, 
shook  him,  struck  him,  called  him  abusive  names, 
and  tore  the  sleeve  of  his  jacket.  The  secretaries 
interposed,  and,  failing  to  quiet  the  governor, 
opened  the  door  and  let  the  boy  escape.  Vautier, 
meanwhile,  had  remained  in  the  guard-room,  where 
Boisseau  struck  at  him  with  his  cane ;  and  one  of 
the  guardsmen  went  for  a  halberd  to  run  him 
through  the  body.  After  this  warm  reception, 
young  Duchesneau  and  his  servant  took  refuge  in 
the  house  of  his  father.  Frontenac  demanded  their 
surrender.  The  intendant,  fearing  that  he  would 
take  them  by  force,  for  which  he  is  said  to  have 
made  preparation,  barricaded  himself  and  armed 
his  household.  The  bishop  tried  to  mediate,  and 
after  protracted  negotiations  young  Duchesneau 
was  given  up,  whereupon  Frontenac  locked  him  in 
a  chamber  of  the  chateau,  and  kept  him  there  a 
month.1 

The  story  of  Frontenac' s  violence  to  the  boy  is 
flatly  denied  by  his  friends,  who  charge  Duches- 

1  Me'moire  de  VEresque  de  Quebec,  Mars,  1681  (printed  in  Revue  Cana- 
dienne,  1873).  The  bishop  is  silent  about  the  barricades  of  which  Fron- 
tenac and  his  friends  complain  in  several  letters. 


1681.]  THE   WAR  BECOMES   GENERAL.  65 

neau  and  his  partisans  with  circulating  libels  against 
him,  and  who  say,  like  Frontenac  himself,  that  the 
intendant  used  every  means  to  exasperate  him,  in 
order  to  make  material  for  accusations.1 

The  disputes  of  the  rival  factions  spread  through 
all  Canada.  The  most  heinous  offence  in  the  eyes 
of  the  court  with  which  each  charged  the  other  was 
the  carrying  of  furs  to  the  English  settlements ;  thus 
defrauding  the  revenue,  and,  as  the  king  believed, 
preparing  the  ruin  of  the  colony.  The  intendant 
farther  declared  that  the  governor's  party  spread 
among  the  Indians  the  report  of  a  pestilence  at 
Montreal,  in  order  to  deter  them  from  their 
yearly  visit  to  the  fair,  and  thus  by  means  of 
coureurs  de  hois  obtain  all  their  beaver  skins  at  a 
low  price.  The  report,  according  to  Duchesneau, 
had  no  other  foundation  than  the  fate  of  eighteen 
or  twenty  Indians,  who  had  lately  drunk  them- 
selves to  death  at  La  Chine.2 

Montreal,  in  the  mean  time,  was  the  scene  of  a 
sort  of  by-play,  in  which  the  chief  actor  was  the 
local  governor,  Perrot.  He  and  Frontenac  appear 
to  have  found  it  for  their  common  interest  to  come 
to  a  mutual  understanding ;  and  this  was  perhaps 
easier  on  the  part  of  the  count,  since  his  quarrel 
with  Duchesneau  gave  sufficient  employment  to 
his  natural  pugnacity.  Perrot  was  now  left  to 
make  a  reasonable  profit  from  the  illicit  trade 
which  had  once  kindled  the  wrath  of  his  superior ; 


1  See,  among  other  instances,  the  Defense  de  M.  de  Frontenac  par  un 
de  ses  Amis,  published  by  Abbe  Verreau  in  the  Revue  Canadienne,  1873. 

2  Plumitifdu  Conseil  Souverain,  1681. 

5 


66  FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNE AU.  [1681. 

and,  the  clanger  of  Frontenac's  anger  being  re- 
moved, he  completely  forgot  the  lessons  of  his 
imprisonment. 

The  intendant  ordered  Migeon,  bailiff  of  Mon- 
treal, to  arrest  some  of  Perrot's  coureurs  de  bois. 
Perrot  at  once  arrested  the  bailiff,  and  sent  a 
sergeant  and  two  soldiers  to  occupy  his  house, 
with  "orders  to  annoy  the  family  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. One  of  them,  accordingly,  walked  to  and 
fro  all  night  in  the  bed-chamber  of  Migeon's  wife. 
On  another  occasion,  the  bailiff  invited  two  friends 
to  supper :  Le  Moyne  d'Iberville  and  one  Bouthier, 
agent  of  a  commercial  house  at  Eochelle.  The 
conversation  turned  on  the  trade  carried  on  by 
Perrot.  It  was  overheard  and  reported  to  him, 
upon  which  he  suddenly  appeared  at  the  window, 
struck  Bouthier  over  the  head  with  his  cane,  then 
drew  his  sword,  and  chased  him  while  he  fled  for 
his  life.  The  seminary  was  near  at  hand,  and  the 
fugitive  clambered  over  the  wall.  Dollier  de  Casson 
dressed  him  in  the  hat  and  cassock  of  a  priest,  and 
in  this  disguise  he  escaped.1  Perrot's  avidity  some- 
times carried  him  to  singular  extremities.  "  He 
has  been  seen,"  says  one  of  his  accusers,  "  filling 
barrels  of  brandy  with  his  own  hands,  and  mixing 
it  with  water  to  sell  to  the  Indians.  He  bartered 
with  one  of  them  his  hat,  sword,  coat,  ribbons, 
shoes,  and  stockings,  and  boasted  that  he  had  made 
thirty  pistoles  by  the  bargain,  while  the  Indian 
walked  about  town  equipped  as  governor."2 

1  Conduitedu  Sieur  Perrot,  Gouverneur  de  Montreal  en  la  Nouvelle  France, 
1681  ;  Plainte  du  Sieur  Bouthier,  10  Oct.,  1680  ;  P  roces-verbal  des  huissiers 
de  Montreal. 

2  Conduite  du  Sieur  Perrot.    La  Barre,  Frontenac's  successor,  declares 


1681.]  THREATS   OF   THE   KING.  67 

Every  ship  from  Canada  brought  to  the  king 
fresh  complaints  of  Duchesneau  against  Fronte- 
nac, and  of  Frontenac  against  Duchesneau;  and 
the  king  replied  with  rebukes,  exhortations,  and 
threats  to  both.  At  first  he  had  shown  a  dispo- 
sition to  extenuate  and  excuse  the  faults  of  Fron- 
tenac, but  every  year  his  letters  grew  sharper. 
In  1681  he  wrote :  "  Again  I  urge  you  to  banish 
from  your  mind  the  difficulties  which  you  have 
yourself  devised  against  the  execution  of  my 
orders ;  to  act  with  mildness  and  moderation  tow- 
ards all  the  colonists,  and  divest  yourself  entirely 
of  the  personal  animosities  which  have  thus  far 
been  almost  your  sole  motive  of  action.  In  con- 
clusion, I  exhort  you  once  more  to  profit  well  by 
the  directions  which  this  letter  contains ;  since, 
unless  you  succeed  better  herein  than  formerly,  I 
cannot  help  recalling  you  from  the  command  which 
I  have  intrusted  to  you."  1 

The  dispute  still  went  on.  The  autumn  ships 
from  Quebec  brought  back  the  usual  complaints, 
and  the  long-suffering  king  at  length  made  good 
his  threat.  Both  Frontenac  and  Duchesneau  re- 
ceived their  recall,  and  they  both  deserved  it.2 

The  last  official  act  of  the  governor,  recorded  in 
the  register  of  the  council  of  Quebec,  is  the  formal 

that  the  charges  against  Perrot  were  false,  including  the  attestations  of 
Migeon  and  his  friends;  that  Dollier  de  Casson  had  been  imposed  upon, 
and  that  various  persons  had  been  induced  to  sign  unfounded  statements 
without  reading  them.     La  Barre  an  Ministre,  4  Nov.,  1683. 

1  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  30  Avril,  1681. 

2  La  Barre  says  that  Duchesneau  was  far  more  to  blame  than  Fron- 
tenac. La  Barre  au  Ministre,  1683.  This  testimony  has  weight,  since 
Frontenac's  friends  were  La  Barre's  enemies. 


68  FROXTEXAC   AXD  DUCHESNE AU.  [1682. 

declaration  that  his  rank  in  that  body  is  superior 
to  that  of  the  intendant.1 

The  key  to  nearly  all  these  disputes  lies  in  the 
relations  between  Frontenac  and  the  Church.  The 
fundamental  quarrel  was  generally  covered  by 
superficial  issues,  and  it  was  rarely  that  the  gov- 
ernor fell  out  with  anybody  who  was  not  in  league 
with  the  bishop  and  the  Jesuits.  "  Nearly  all  the 
disorders  in  New  France,"  he  writes,  "  spring  from 
the  ambition  of  the  ecclesiastics,  who  want  to  join 
to  their  spiritual  authority  an  absolute  power  over 
things  temporal,  and  who  persecute  all  who  do  not 
submit  entirely  to  them."  He  says  that  the  in- 
tendant and  the  councillors  are  completely  under 
their  control,  and  dare  not  decide  any  question 
against  them ;  that  they  have  spies  everywhere, 
even  in  his  house  ;  that  the  bishop  told  him  that 
he  could  excommunicate  even  a  governor,  if  he 
chose ;  that  the  missionaries  in  Indian  villages  say 
that  they  are  equals  of  Onontio,  and  tell  their  con- 
verts that  all  will  go  wrong  till  the  priests  have  the 
government  of  Canada ;  that  directly  or  indirectly 
they  meddle  in  all  civil  affairs ;  that  they  trade  even 
with  the  English  of  New  York ;  that,  what  with 
Jesuits,  Sulpitians,  the  bishop,  and  the  seminary  of 
Quebec,  they  hold  two-thirds  of  the  good  lands  of 
Canada  ;  that,  in  view  of  the  poverty  of  the  country, 
their  revenues  are  enormous ;  that,  in  short,  their 
object  is  mastery,  and  that  they  use  all  means  to 
compass  it.2     The  recall  of  the  governor  was  a  tri- 

1  Registre  du  Conseil  Suptfrieur,  16  Fe'v.,  1682. 

2  Frontenac,    Me'moire  adress€   a    Colbert,   1677.       This    remarkable 


1682.]  QUALITIES  OF  FRONTENAC.  69 

umph  to  the  ecclesiastics,  offset  but  slightly  by  the 
recall,  of  their  instrument,  the  intendant,  who  had 
done  his  work,  and  whom  they  needed  no  longer. 

Thus  far,  we  have  seen  Frontenac  on  his  worst 
side.  We  shall  see  him  again  under  an  aspect 
very  different.  Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  the 
years  which  had  passed  since  his  government  began, 
tempestuous  as  they  appear  on  the  record,  were 
wholly  given  over  to  quarrelling.  They  had  their 
periods  of  uneventful  calm,  when  the  wheels  of  ad- 
ministration ran  as  smoothly  as  could  be  expected 
in  view  of  the  condition  of  the  colony.  In  one 
respect  at  least,  Frontenac  had  shown  a  remarkable 
fitness  for  his  office.  Few  white  men  have  ever 
equalled  or  approached  him  in  the  art  of  dealing 
with  Indians.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  sympa- 
thetic relation  between  him  and  them.  He  con- 
formed to  their  ways,  borrowed  their  rhetoric, 
flattered  them  on  occasion  with  great  address,  and 
yet  constantly  maintained  towards  them  an  attitude 
of  paternal  superiority.  When  they  were  concerned, 
his  native  haughtiness  always  took  a  form  which 
commanded  respect  without  exciting  anger.  He 
would  not  address  them  as  brothers,  but  only  as 
children;  and  even  the  Iroquois,  arrogant  as  they 
were,  accepted  the  new  relation.  In  their  eyes 
Frontenac  was  by  far  the  greatest  of  all  the 
"  Onontios,"  or  governors  of  Canada.  They  ad- 
paper  will  be  found  in  the  Decouvertes  et  Elablissements  des  Francois  dans 
PAiiie'ii'/iie  Septentrionale;  Memoires  et  Documents  Originaux,  edited  by 
M.  Margry.  The  paper  is  very  long,  and  contains  references  to  attesta- 
tions and  other  proofs  which  accompanied  it,  especially  in  regard  to 
the  trade  of  the  Jesuits. 


70  FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1682. 

mired  the  prompt  and  fiery  soldier  who  played 
with  their  children,  and  gave  beads  and  trinkets  to 
their  wives  ;  who  read  their  secret  thoughts  and 
never  feared  them,  but  smiled  on  them  when  their 
hearts  were  true,  or  frowned  and  threatened  them 
when  they  did  amiss.  The  other  tribes,  allies  of 
the  French,  were  of  the  same  mind ;  and  their  re- 
spect for  their  Great  Father  seems  not  to  have  been 
permanently  impaired  by  his  occasional  practice  of 
bullying  them  for  purposes  of  extortion. 

Frontenac  appears  to  have  had  a  liking  not  only 
for  Indians,  but  also  for  that  roving  and  lawless 
class  of  the  Canadian  population,  the  coureurs  de 
hois,  provided  always  that  they  were  not  in  the 
service  of  his  rivals.  Indeed,  as  regards  the  Cana- 
dians generally,  he  refrained  from  the  strictures 
with  which  succeeding  governors  and  intenclants 
freely  interlarded  their  despatches.  It  was  not  his 
instinct  to  clash  with  the  humbler  classes,  and  he 
generally  reserved  his  anger  for  those  who  could 
retort  it. 

He  had  the  air  of  distinction  natural  to  a  man 
familiar  all  his  life  with  the  society  of  courts,  and 
he  was  as  gracious  and  winning  on  some  occasions 
as  he  was  unbearable  on  others.  When  in  good 
humor,  his  ready  wit  and  a  certain  sympathetic 
vivacity  made  him  very  agreeable.  At  times  he 
was  all  sunshine,  and  his  outrageous  temper  slum- 
bered peacefully  till  some  new  offence  wakened  it 
again ;  nor  is  there  much  doubt  that  many  of  his 
worst  outbreaks  were  the  work  of  his  enemies,  who 
knew  his  foible,  and  studied   to   exasperate  him. 


1682.]  DEPARTURE  OF  FRONTENAC.  71 

He  was  full  of  contradictions ;  and,  intolerant  and 
implacable  as  he  often  was,  there  were  intervals, 
even  in  his  bitterest  quarrels,  in  which  he  displayed 
a  surprising  moderation  and  patience.  By  fits  he 
could  be  magnanimous.  A  woman  once  brought 
him  a  petition  in  burlesque  verse.  Frontenac 
wrote  a  jocose  answer.  The  woman,  to  ridicule 
him,  contrived  to  have  both  petition  and  answer 
slipped  among  the  papers  of  a  suit  pending  before 
the  council.  Frontenac  had  her  fined  a  few  francs, 
and  then  caused  the  money  to  be  given  to  her 
children.1 

When  he  sailed  for  France,  it  was  a  day  of  re- 
joicing to  more  than  half  the  merchants  of  Canada, 
and,  excepting  the  Recollets,  to  all  the  priests ; 
but  he  left  behind  him  an  impression,  very  general 
among  the  people,  that,  if  danger  threatened  the 
colony,  Count  Frontenac  was  the  man  for  the 
hour. 

1  Note  by  Abbe  Verreau,  in  Journal  de  I' Instruction  Publique  (Canada), 
VIII.  127. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

1682-1684. 

LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE. 

His  Arrival  at  Quebec.  —  The  Great  Fire.  — A  Coming  Storm.  — 
Iroquois  Policy.  —  The  Danger  imminent.  — Indian  Allies  of 
France.  —  Frontenac  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Boasts  op  La  Barre. 
His  Past  Life.  —  His  Speculations.  —  He  takes  Alarm.  —  His 
Dealings  with  the  Iroquois.  —  His  Illegal  Trade.  —  His  Col- 
•  league  denounces  him.  —  Fruits  of  his  Schemes.  —  His  Anger 
and  his  Fears. 

^YHEN  the  new  governor,  La  Barre,  and  the  new 
intendant,  Meules,  arrived  at  Quebec,  a  dismal 
greeting  waited  them.  All  the  Lower  Town  was 
in  ashes,  except  the  house  of  the  merchant  Aubert 
de  la  Chesnaye,  standing  alone  amid  the  wreck. 
On  a  Tuesday,  the  fourth  of  August,  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  the  nuns  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  were 
roused  from  their  early  slumbers  by  shouts,  out- 
cries, and  the  ringing  of  bells ;  "  and,"  writes  one 
of  them,  "  what  was  our  terror  to  find  it  as  light 
as  noonday,  the  flames  burned  so  fiercely  and  rose 
so  high."  Half  an  hour  before,  Chartier  de  Lot- 
biniere,  judge  of  the  king's  court,  heard  the  first 
alarm,  ran  clown  the  descent  now  called  Mountain 
Street,  and  found  every  thing  in  confusion  in  the 
town  below.  The  house  of  Etienne  Planchon  was 
in  a  blaze ;  the  fire  was  spreading  to  those  of  his 


1682.]  THE  GREAT  EIRE.  73 

neighbors,  and  had  just  leaped  the  narrow  street 
to  the  storehouse  of  the  Jesuits.  The  season  was 
excessively  dry  ;  there  were  no  means  of  throwing 
water  except  kettles  and  buckets,  and  the  crowd 
was  bewildered  with  excitement  and  fright.  Men 
were  ordered  to  tear  off  roofs  and  pull  clown 
houses ;  but  the  flames  drove  them  from  their 
work,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  fifty-five 
buildings  were  burnt  to  the  ground.  They  were 
all  of  wood,  but  many  of  them  were  storehouses 
filled  with  goods ;  and  the  property  consumed  was 
more  in  value  than  all  that  remained  in  Canada.1 

Under  these  gloomy  auspices,  Le  Febvre  de  la 
Barre  began  his  reign.  He  was  an  old  officer  who 
had  achieved  notable  exploits  against  the  English 
in  the  West  Indies,  but  who  was  now  to  be  put  to 
a  test  far  more  severe.  He  made  his  lodging  in 
the  chateau;  while  his  colleague,  Meules,  could 
hardly  find  a  shelter.  The  buildings  of  the  Upper 
Town  were  filled  with  those  whom  the  fire  had 
made  roofless,  and  the  intendant  was  obliged  to 
content  himself  with  a  house  in  the  neighboring 
woods.  Here  he  was  ill  at  ease,  for  he  dreaded  an 
Indian  war  and  the  scalping-knives  of  the  Iroquois.2 

So  far  as  his  own  safety  was  concerned,  his 
alarm  was  needless ;  but  not  so  as  regarded  the 
colony  with  whose  affairs  he  was  charged.  For 
those  who  had  eyes  to  see  it,  a  terror  and  a 
woe  lowered  in  the  future  of  Canada.     In  an  evil 

1  Chartier  de  Lotbiniere,  Proces-verbal  sur  Vlncendie  de  la  Basse  Ville  ; 
Meides  au  Ministre,  6  Oct.,  1682 ;  Juchereau,  Histoire  de  VHotel-Dieu  de 
Quebec,  256. 

2  Meides  au  Ministre,  6  Oct.,  1682. 


74  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [1680-82. 

hour  for  her,  the  Iroquois  had  conquered  their 
southern  neighbors,  the  Andastes,  who  had  long 
held  their  ground  against  them,  and  at  one  time 
threatened  them  with  ruin.  The  hands  of  the 
confederates  were  now  free;  their  arrogance  was 
redoubled  by  victory,  and,  having  long  before 
destroyed  all  the  adjacent  tribes  on  the  north 
and  west,1  they  looked  for  fresh  victims  in  the 
wilderness  beyond.  Their  most  easterly  tribe, 
the  Mohawks,  had  not  forgotten  the  chastise- 
ment they  had  received  from  Tracy  and  Cour- 
celle.  They  had  learned  to  fear  the  French,  and 
were  cautious  in  offending  them ;  but  it  was  not 
so  with  the  remoter  Iroquois.  Of  these,  the  Sen- 
ecas  at  the  western  end  of  the  "  Long  House," 
as  they  called  their  fivefold  league,  were  by  far 
the  most  powerful,  for  they  could  muster  as  many 
warriors  as  all  the  four  remaining  tribes  to- 
gether; and  they  now  sought  to  draw  the  con- 
federacy into  a-  series  of  wars,  which,  though  not 
directed  against  the  French,  threatened  soon  to 
involve  them.  Their  first  movement  westward 
was  against  the  tribes  of  the  Illinois.  I  have  al- 
ready described  their  bloody  inroad  in  the  summer 
of  1680.2  They  made  the  valley  of  the  Illinois  a 
desert,  and  returned  with  several  hundred  prison- 
ers, of  whom  they  burned  those  that  were  useless, 
and  incorporated  the  young  and  strong  into  their 
own  tribe. 

This  movement  of  the  western  Iroquois  had  a 
double  incentive,  their  love  of  fighting  and  their 

1  Jesuits  in  North  America.        2  Discovery  of  the  Great  West. 


1680-82.]  IROQUOIS  POLICY.  75 

love  of  gain.  It  was  a  war  of  conquest  and  of 
trade.  All  the  five  tribes  of  the  league  had  be- 
come dependent  on  the  English  and  Dutch  of 
Albany  for  guns,  powder,  lead,  brandy,  and  many 
other  things  that  they  had  learned  to  regard  as 
necessities.  Beaver  skins  alone  could  buy  them, 
but  to  the  Iroquois  the  supply  of  beaver  skins  was 
limited.  The  regions  of  the  west  and  north-west,  the 
upper  Mississippi  with  its  tributaries,  and,  above 
all,  the  forests  of  the  upper  lakes,  were  occupied  by 
tribes  in  the  interest  of  the  French,  whose  mission- 
aries and  explorers  had  been  the  first  to  visit  them, 
and  whose  traders  controlled  their  immense  annual 
product  of  furs.  La  Salle,  by  his  newly  built  fort 
of  St.  Louis,  engrossed  the  trade  of  the  Illinois 
and  Miami  tribes ;  while  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas, 
gathered  about  the  old  mission  of  Michillimackinac, 
acted  as  factors  for  the  Sioux,  the  Winnebagoes, 
and  many  other  remote  hordes.  Every  summer 
they  brought  down  their  accumulated  beaver  skins 
to  the  fair  at  Montreal ;  while  French  bush-rangers 
roving  through  the  wilderness,  with  or  without 
licenses,  collected  many  more.1 

It  was  the  purpose  of  the  Iroquois  to  master  all 
this  traffic,  conquer  the  tribes  who  had  possession 
of  it,  and  divert  the  entire  supply  of  furs  to  them- 
selves, and  through  themselves  to  the  English  and 
Dutch.  That  English  and  Dutch  traders  urged 
them  on  is  affirmed  by  the  French,  and  is  very 
likely.     The  accomplishment  of  the  scheme  would 

1  Duchesneau,  Memoir  on  Western  Indians  in  N.  Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  IX. 
160. 


76  LE  EEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [1680-82. 

have  ruined  Canada.  Moreover,  the  Illinois,  the 
Hurons,  the  Ottawas,  and  all  the  other  tribes 
threatened  by  the  Iroquois,  were  the  allies  and 
"  children  "  of  the  French,  who  in  honor  as  in  in- 
terest were  bound  to  protect  them.  Hence,  when 
the  Seneca  invasion  of  the  Illinois  became  known, 
there  was  deep  anxiety  in  the  colony,  "except 
only  among  those  in  whom  hatred  of  the  monop- 
olist La  Salle  had  overborne  every  consideration 
of  the  public  good.  La  Salle's  new  establishment 
of  St.  Louis  was  in  the  path  of  the  invaders; 
and,  if  he  could  be  crushed,  there  was  where- 
with to  console  his  enemies  for  all  else  that  might 
ensue. 

Bad  as  was  the  posture  of  affairs,  it  was  made 
far  worse  by  an  incident  that  took  place  soon  after 
the  invasion  of  the  Illinois.  A  Seneca  chief  en- 
gaged in  it,  who  had  left  the  main  body  of  his 
countrymen,  was  captured  by  a  party  of  Winne- 
bagoes  to  serve  as  a  hostage  for  some  of  their 
tribe  whom  the  Senecas  had  lately  seized.  They 
carried  him  to  Michillimackinac,  where  there 
chanced  to  be  a  number  of  Illinois,  married  to 
Indian  women  of  that  neighborhood.  A  quarrel 
ensued  between  them  and  the  Seneca,  whom  they 
stabbed  to  death  in  a  lodge  of  the  Kiskakons,  one 
of  the  tribes  of  the  Ottawas.  Here  was  a  casus  belli 
likely  to  precipitate  a  war  fatal  to  all  the  tribes 
about  Michillimackinac,  and  equally  fatal  to  the 
trade  of  Canada.  Frontenac  set  himself  to  conjure 
the  rising  storm,  and  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Iro- 
quois to  invite  them  to  a  conference. 


1680-82.]  THE   INDIAN  ALLIES.  77 

He  found  them  unusually  arrogant.  Instead  of 
coming  to  him,  they  demanded  that  he  should  come 
to  them,  and  many  of  the  French  wished  him  to 
comply;  but  Frontenac  refused,  on  the  ground 
that  such  a  concession  would  add  to  their  insolence, 
and  he  declined  to  go  farther  than  Montreal,  or  at 
the  utmost  Fort  Frontenac,  the  usual  place  of 
meeting  with  them.  Early  in  August  he  was  at 
Montreal,  expecting  the  arrival  of  the  Ottawas  and 
Hurons  on  their  yearly  descent  from  the  lakes. 
They  soon  appeared,  and  he  called  them  to  a 
solemn  council.  Terror  had  seized  them  all. 
"  Father,  take  pity  on  us,"  said  the  Ottawa  orator, 
"for  we  are  like  dead  men."  A  Huron  chief, 
named  the  Rat,  declared  that  the  world  was  turned 
upside  down,  and  implored  the  protection  of  Onon- 
tio,  "  who  is  master  of  the  whole  earth."  These 
tribes  were  far  from  harmony  among  themselves. 
Each  was  jealous  of  the  other,  and  the  Ottawas 
charged  the  Hurons  with  trying  to  make  favor  with 
the  common  enemy  at  their  expense.  Frontenac 
told  them  that  they  were  all  his  children  alike,  and 
advised  them  to  live  together  as  brothers,  and 
make  treaties  of  alliance  with  all  the  tribes  of  the 
lakes.  At  the  same  time,  he  urged  them  to  make 
full  atonement  for  the  death  of  the  Seneca  mur- 
dered in  their  country,  and  carefully  to  refrain 
from  any  new  offence. 

Soon  after  there  was  another  arrival.  La  Foret, 
the  officer  in  command  at  Fort  Frontenac,  appeared, 
bringing  with  him  a  famous  Iroquois  chief  called 
Decanisora  or  Tegannisorens,  attended  by  a  num- 


78  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA   BARRE.  [1680-82. 

ber  of  warriors.  They  came  to  invite  Frontenac 
to  meet  the  deputies  of  the  five  tribes  at  Oswego, 
within  their  own  limits.  Frontenac's  reply  was 
characteristic.  "It  is  for  the  father  to  tell  the 
children  where  to  hold  council,  not  for  the  chil- 
dren to  tell  the  father.  Fort  Frontenac  is  the 
proper  place,  and  you  should  thank  me  for  going 
so  far  every  summer  to  meet  you."  The  Iroquois 
had  expressed  pacific  intentions  towards  the  Hurons 
and  Ottawas.  For  this  Frontenac  commended  him, 
but  added  :  "  The  Illinois  also  are  children  of  Onon- 
tio,  and  hence  brethren  of  the  Iroquois.  There- 
fore they,  too,  should  be  left  in  peace ;  for  Onontio 
wishes  that  all  his  family  should  live  together  in 
union."  He  confirmed  his  words  with  a  huge  belt 
of  wampum.  Then,  addressing  the  flattered  deputy 
as  a  great  chief,  he  desired  him  to  use  his  influence 
in  behalf  of  peace,  and  gave  him  a  jacket  and  a 
silk  cravat,  both  trimmed  with  gold,  a  hat,  a  scarlet 
ribbon,  and  a  gun,  with  beads  for  his  wife,  and  red 
cloth  for  his  daughter.  The  Iroquois  went  home 
delighted.1 

Perhaps  on  this  occasion  Frontenac  was  too  con- 
fident of  his  influence  over  the  savage  confederates. 
Such  at  least  was  the  opinion  of  Lamberville,  Jesuit 
missionary  at  Onondaga,  the  Iroquois  capital.  From 
what  he  daily  saw  around  him,  he  thought  the  peril 
so  imminent  that  concession  on  the  part  of  the 
French  was  absolutely  necessary,  since  not  only 
the  Illinois,  but  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  were 
in    danger   of    speedy   and   complete  destruction. 

1  For  the  papers  on  this  affair,  see  N.  Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  IX. 


1682.]  HIS  BOASTS.  79 

"  Tegannisorens  loves  the  French,"  he  wrote  to 
Frontenac,  "  but  neither  he  nor  any  other  of  the 
upper  Iroquois  fear  them  in  the  least.  They  anni- 
hilate our  allies,  whom  by  adoption  of  prisoners 
they  convert  into  Iroquois ;  and  they  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  avow  that  after  enriching  themselves  by  our 
plunder,  and  strengthening  themselves  by  those 
who  might  have  aided  us,  they  will  pounce  all  at 
once  upon  Canada,  and  overwhelm  it  in  a  single 
campaign."  He  acids  that  within  the  past  two 
years  they  have  reinforced  themselves  by  more 
than  nine  hundred  warriors,  adopted  into  their 
tribes.1 

Such  was  the  crisis  when  Frontenac  left  Canada 
at  the  moment  when  he  was  needed  most,  and 
Le  Febvre  de  la  Barre  came  to  supplant  him.  The 
new  governor  introduces  himself  with  a  burst  of 
rhoclomontade.  "  The  Iroquois,"  he  writes  to  the 
king,  "  have  twenty-six  hundred  warriors.  I  will 
attack  them  with  twelve  hundred  men.  They 
know  me  before  seeing  me,  for  they  have  been 
told  by  the  English  how  roughly  I  handled  them 
in  the  West  Indies."  This  bold  note  closes  rather 
tamely  ;  for  the  governor  acids,  "  I  think  that  if  the 
Iroquois  believe  that  your  Majesty  would  have  the 
goodness  to  give  me  some  help,  they  will  make 
peace,  and  let  our  allies  alone,  which  would  save 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  an  arduous  war."  2  He 
then  begs  hard  for  troops,  and  in  fact  there  was 
great  need  of  them,  for  there  were  none  in  Canada  ; 

1  P.  Jean  de  LamberviUe  a  Frontenac,  20  Sept.,  1682. 

2  La  Barre  au  Roy,  (4  Oct.  ?)  1682. 


80  LE  EEBVRE   DE  LA   BARRE.  [1682. 

and  even  Frontenac  had  been  compelled  in  the  last 
year  of  his  government  to  leave  unpunished  various 
acts  of  violence  and  plunder  committed  by  the 
Iroquois.  La  Barre  painted  the  situation  in  its 
blackest  colors,  declared  that  war  was  imminent, 
and  wrote  to  the  minister,  "  We  shall  lose  half  our 
trade  and  all  our  reputation,  if  we  do  not  oppose 
these  haughty  conquerors."  ! 

A  vein  of  gasconade  appears  in  most  of  his  let- 
ters, not  however  accompanied  with  any  conclusive 
evidence  of  a  real  wish  to  fight.  His  best  fighting 
days  were  past,  for  he  was  sixty  years  old  ;  nor 
had  he  always  been  a  man  of  the  sword.  His  early 
life  was  spent  in  the  law  ;  he  had  held  a  judicial 
post,  and  had  been  intendant  of  several  French 
jDrovinces.  Even  the  military  and  naval  employ- 
ments, in  which  he  afterwards  acquitted  himself 
with  credit,  were  due  to  the  part  he  took  in  form- 
ing a  joint-stock  company  for  colonizing  Cayenne.2 
In  fact,  he  was  but  half  a  soldier ;  and  it  was  per- 
haps for  this  reason  that  he  insisted  on  being  called, 
not  Monsieur  le  Gouvemeur,  but  Monsieur  le 
General.  He  wras  equal  to  Frontenac  neither  in 
vigor  nor  in  rank,  but  he  far  surpassed  him  in 
avidity.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  he  wrote  to  the 
minister  that  he  should  not  follow  the  example  of 


1  La  Barre  a  Seignelay,  1682. 

2  He  was  made  governor  of  Cayenne,  and  went  thither  with  Tracy  in 
1664.  Two  years  later,  he  gained  several  victories  over  the  English, 
and  recaptured  Cayenne,  which  they  had  taken  in  his  absence.  He 
wrote  a  hook  concerning  this  colony,  called  Description  de  la  France 
E'juinoctiale.  Another  volume,  called  Journal  du  Voyage  da  Sieur  de  la 
Barre  en  la  Terre  Ferine  et  Isle  de  Cayenne,  was  printed  at  Paris  in  1671. 


1682.]  HIS   SPECULATIONS.  81 

Iiis  predecessors  in  making  money  out  of  his  gov- 
ernment by  trade ;  and  in  consideration  of  these 
good  intentions  he  asked  for  an  addition  to  his 
pay.1  He  then  immediately  made  alliances  with 
certain  merchants  of  Quebec  for  carrying  on  an 
extensive  illicit  trade,  backed  by  all  the  power  of 
his  office.  Now  ensued  a  strange  and  miserable  com- 
plication. Questions  of  war  mingled  with  ques- 
tions of  personal  gain.  There  was  a  commercial 
revolution  in  the  colony.  The  merchants  whom 
Frontenac  excluded  from  his  ring  now  had  their 
turn.  It  was  they  who,  jointly  with  the  intendant 
and  the  ecclesiastics,  had  procured  the  removal  of 
the  old  governor ;  and  it  was  they  who  gained  the 
ear  of  the  new  one.  Aubert  de  la  Chesnaye, 
Jacques  Le  Ber,  and  the  rest  of  their  faction,  now 
basked  in  official  favor;  and  La  Salle,  La  Foret, 
and  the  other  friends  of  Frontenac,  were  cast  out. 
There  was  one  exception.  Greysolon  Du  Lhut, 
leader  of  coureurs  de  bois,  was  too  important  to  be 
thus  set  aside.  He  was  now  as  usual  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  north,  the  roving  chief  of  a  half  sav- 
age crew,  trading,  exploring,  fighting,  and  laboring 
with  persistent  hardihood  to  foil  the  rival  English 
traders  of  Hudson's  Bay.  Inducements  to  gain  his 
adhesion  were  probably  held  out  to  him  by  La 
Barre  and  his  allies  :  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain 
that  he  acted  in  harmony  with  the  faction  of  the 
new  governor.  With  La  Foret  it  was  widely  dif- 
ferent. He  commanded  Fort  Frontenac,  winch 
belonged  to  La  Salle,  when  La  Barre's  associates, 

1  La  Barre  a  Seignelay,  1682. 


82  LE  FEBVRE   DE  LA   BARRE.  [1682. 

La  Chesnaye  and  Le  Ber,  armed  with  an  order 
from  the  governor,  came  up  from  Montreal,  and 
seized  upon  the  place  with  all  that  it  contained. 
The  pretext  for  this  outrage  was  the  false  one  that 
La  Salle  had  not  fulfilled  the  conditions  under 
which  the  fort  had  been  granted  to  him.  La  Foret 
was  told  that  he  might  retain  his  command,  if  he 
would  join  the  faction  of  La  Barre  ;  but  he  refused, 
stood  true  to  his  chief,  and  soon  after  sailed  for 
France. 

La  Barre  summoned  the  most  able  and  experi- 
enced persons  in  the  colony  to  discuss  the  state  of 
affairs.  Their  conclusion  was  that  the  Iroquois 
would  attack  and  destroy  the  Illinois,  and,  this 
accomplished,  turn  upon  the  tribes  of  the  lakes, 
conquer  or  destroy  them  also,  and  ruin  the  trade 
of  Canada.1  Dark  as  was  the  prospect,  La  Barre 
and  his  fellow-speculators  flattered  themselves  that 
the  war  could  be  averted  for  a  year  at  least. 
The  Iroquois  owed  their  triumphs  as  much  to 
their  sagacity  and  craft  as  to  their  extraordinary 
boldness  and  ferocity.  It  had  always  been  their 
policy  to  attack  their  enemies  in  detail,  and  while 
destroying  one  to  cajole  the  rest.  There  seemed 
little  doubt  that  they  would  leave  the  tribes  of  the 
lakes  in  peace  till  they  had  finished  the  ruin  of  the 
Illinois ;  so  that  if  these,  the  allies  of  the  colony, 
were  abandoned  to  their  fate,  there  would  be  time 
for  a  profitable  trade  in  the  direction  of  Michilli- 
mackinac. 


1   Conference  on   the  State  of  Affairs  with   the  Iroquois,  Oct.,  1682,  in 
N.  Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  IX.  194. 


1G83.]  HE   TAKES   ALARM.  83 

But  hopes  seemed  vain  and  prognostics  illusory, 
when,  early  in  spring,  a  report  came  that  the 
Seneca  Iroquois  were  preparing  to  attack,  in  force, 
not  only  the  Illinois,  but  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas 
of  the  lakes.  La  Barre  and  his  confederates  were 
in  dismay.  They  already  had  large  quantities  of 
goods  at  Michillimackinac,  the  point  immediately 
threatened  ;  and  an  officer  was  hastily  despatched, 
with  men  and  munitions,  to  strengthen  the  de- 
fences of  the  place.1  A  small  vessel  was  sent  to 
France  with  letters  begging  for  troops.  "  I  will 
perish  at  their  head,"  wrote  La  Barre  to  the  king, 
"  or  destroy  your  enemies ; " 2  and  he  assures 
the  minister  that  the  Senecas  must  be  attacked  or 
the  country  abandoned.3  The  intend  ant,  Meules, 
shared  something  of  his  alarm,  and  informed  the  king 
that  "  the  Iroquois  are  the  only  people  on  earth 
who  do  not  know  the  grandeur  of  your  Majesty."  4 

While  thus  appealing  to  the  king,  La  Barre  sent 
Charles  le  Moyne  as  envoy  to  Onondaga.  Through 
his  influence,  a  deputation  of  forty-three  Iroquois 
chiefs  was  sent  to  meet  the  governor  at  Montreal. 
Here  a  grand  council  was  held  in  the  newly  built 
church.  Presents  were  given  the  deputies  to  the 
value  of  more  than  two  thousand  crowns.  Sooth- 
ing speeches  were  made  them ;  and  they  were 
urged  not  to  attack  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  nor 
to  plunder    French    traders,  without  permission.5 

1  La  Barre  au  Ministre,  4  Nov.,  1683. 

2  La  Barre  au  Boy,  30  Mai,  1683. 

3  La  Barre  au  Ministre,  30  Mai,  1683. 
*  Meuks  au  Roy,  2  Juin,  1683. 

6  Soon  after  La  Barre's  arrival,  La  Chesnaye  is  said  to  have  induced 


84  LE   FEBVRE   DE   LA  BARRE.  [1683. 

They  assented ;  and  La  Barre  then  asked,  timidly, 
why  they  made  war  on  the  Illinois.  "  Because  they 
deserve  to  die,"  haughtily  returned  the  Iroquois 
orator.  La  Barre  dared  not  answer.  They  com- 
plained that  La  Salle  had  given  guns,  powder,  and 
lead  to  the  Illinois  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  he  had 
helped  the  allies  of  the  colony  to  defend  them- 
selves. La  Barre,  who  hated  La  Salle  and  his 
monopolies,  assured  them  that  he  should  be  pun- 
ished.1 It  is  affirmed,  on  good  authority,  that  he 
said  more  than  this,  and  told  them  they  were  wel- 
come to  plunder  and  kill  him.2  The  rapacious  old 
man  was  playing  with  a  two-edged  sword. 

Thus  the  Illinois,  with  the  few  Frenchmen  who 
had  tried  to  defend  them,  were  left  to  perish  ; 
and,  in  return,  a  brief  and  doubtful  respite  was 
gained  for  the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  La  Barre  and 
his  confederates  took  heart  again.  Merchandise, 
in  abundance,  was  sent  to  Michillimackinac,  and 
thence  to  the  remoter  tribes  of  the  north  and 
west.  The  governor  and  his  partner,  La  Ches- 
naye,  sent   up  a  fleet  of  thirty  canoes ; 3   and,   a 

him  to  urge  the  Iroquois  to  plunder  all  traders  who  were  not  provided 
with  passports  from  the  governor.  The  Iroquois  complied  so  promptly, 
that  they  stopped  and  pillaged,  at  Niagara,  two  canoes  belonging  to  La 
Chesnaye  himself,  which  had  gone  up  the  lakes  in  Frontenac's  time, 
and  therefore  were  without  passports.  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  en 
Canada  an  Sujet  de  la  Guerre,  etc.,  depuis  Vanne'e  1682.  (Published  by  the 
Historical  Society  of  Quebec.)  This  was  not  the  only  case  in  which  the 
weapons  of  La  Barre  and  his  partisans  recoiled  against  themselves. 

1  Belmont,  Histoiredu  Canada  (a  contemporary  chronicle). 

2  See  Discovery  of  the  Great  West.  La  Barre  denies  the  assertion, 
and  says  that  he  merely  told  the  Iroquois  that  La  Salle  should  be  sent 
home. 

3  Me'moire  adresse'  a  MM.  les  Inte'resse's  en  la  SocieUe'  de  la  Ferme  el 
Commerce  du  Canada,  1683. 


1683.]  MEULES  DENOUNCES   HIM.  85 

little  later,  they  are  reported  to  have  sent  more 
than  a  hundred.  This  forest  trade  robbed  the 
colonists,  by  forestalling  the  annual  market  of 
Montreal ;  while  a  considerable  part  of  the  furs 
acquired  by  it  were  secretly  sent  to  the  English 
and'  Dutch  of  New  York.  Thus  the  heavy  duties 
of  the  custom-house  at  Quebec  were  evaded ;  and 
silver  coin  was  received  in  payment,  instead  of 
questionable  bills  of  exchange.1  Frontenac  had 
not  been  faithful  to  his  trust ;  but,  compared  to  his 
successor,  he  was  a  model  of  official  virtue. 

La  Barre  busied  himself  with  ostentatious  prepa- 
ration for  war ;  built  vessels  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
and  sent  up  fleets  of  canoes,  laden  or  partly  laden 
with  munitions.  .  But  his  accusers  say  that  the 
king's  canoes  were  used  to  transport  the  governor's 
goods,  and  that  the  men  sent  to  garrison  Fort 
Frontenac  were  destined,  not  to  fight  the  Iroquois, 
but  to  sell  them  brandy.  "  Last  year,"  writes  the 
intenclant,  "  Monsieur  cle  la  Barre  had  a  vessel 
built,  for  which  he  made  his  Majesty  pay  heavily ; " 
and  he  proceeds  to  say  that  it  was  built  for  trade, 
and  was  used  for  no  other  purpose.  "  If,"  he 
continues,  "  the  two  ( k ing's)  vessels  now  at  Fort 
Frontenac  had  not  been  used  for  trading,  they 
would  have  saved  us  half  the  expense  we  have 
been  forced  to  incur  in  transporting  munitions 
and  supplies.  The  pretended  necessity  of  having 
vessels  at  this  fort,  and  the  consequent  employing 

1  These  statements  are  made  in  a  memorial  of  the  agents  of  the 
custom-house,  in  letters  of  Meules,  and  in  several  other  quarters.  La 
Barre  is  accused  of  sending  furs  to  Albany  under  pretext  of  official 
communication  with  the  governor  of  New  York. 


86  LE   FEBVRE  DE   LA  BARRE.  [1683-84. 

of  carpenters,  and  sending  up  of  iron,  cordage, 
sails,  and  many  other  things,  at  his  Majesty's 
charge,  was  simply  in  the  view  of  carrying  on 
trade."  He  says,  farther,  that  in  May  last,  the 
vessels,  canoes,  and  men  being  nearly  all  absent  on 
this  errand,  the  fort  was  left  in  so  defenceless  a 
state  that  a  party  of  Senecas,  returning  from  their 
winter  hunt,  took  from  it  a  quantity  of  goods,  and 
drank  as  much  brandy  as  they  wanted.  "  In 
short,"  he  concludes,  "  it  is  plain  that  Monsieur  de 
la  Barre  uses  this  fort  only  as  a  depot  for  the  trade 
of  Lake  Ontario."  * 

In  the  spring  of  1683,  La  Barre  had  taken  a 
step  as  rash  as  it  was  lawless  and  unjust.  He  sent 
the  Chevalier  de  Baugis,  lieutenant  of  his  guard, 
with  a  considerable  number  of  canoes  and  men,  to 
seize  La  Salle's  fort  of  St.  Louis  on  the  river  Illinois ; 
a  measure  which,  while  gratifying  the  passions 
and  the  greed  of  himself  and  his  allies,  would 
greatly  increase  the  clanger  of  rupture  with  the 
Iroquois.  Late  in  the  season,  he  despatched  seven 
canoes  and  fourteen  men,  with  goods  to  the  value 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand  livres,  to  trade  with 
the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi.  As  he  had  sown,  so 
he  reaped.  The  seven  canoes  passed  through  the 
country  of  the  Illinois.  A  large  war  party  of 
Senecas  and  Cayugas  invaded  it  in  February. 
La  Barre  had  told  their  chiefs  that  they  were  wel- 
come to  plunder  the  canoes  of  La  Salle.  The 
Iroquois  were  not  discriminating.     They  fell  upon 

1  Meules  a  Seignelay,  8  July,  1684.  This  accords  perfectly  with  state- 
ments made  in  several  memorials  of  La  Salle  and  his  friends. 


1684.]  HIS  ANGER  AND  HIS  FEARS.  87 

the  governor's  canoes,  seized  all  the  goods,  and 
captured  the  men.1  Then  they  attacked  Baugis 
at  Fort  St.  Louis.  The  place,  perched  on  a  rock, 
was  strong,  and  they  were  beaten  oft: ;  but  the  act 
was  one  of  open  war. 

When  La  Barre  heard  the  news,  he  was  furious.2 
He  trembled  for  the  vast  amount  of  goods  which 
he  and  his  fellow-speculators  had  sent  to  Michilli- 
mackinac  and  the  lakes.  There  was  but  one  re- 
source :  to  call  out  the  militia,  muster  the  Indian 
allies,  advance  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  dictate  peace 
to  the  Senecas,  at  the  head  of  an  imposing  force  ; 
or,  failing  in  this,  to  attack  and  crush  them.  A 
small  vessel  lying  at  Quebec  was  clesjmtched  to 
France,  with  urgent  appeals  for  immediate  aid, 
though  there  was  little  hope  that  it  could  arrive 
in  time.  She  bore  a  long  letter,  half  piteous,  half 
bombastic,  from  La  Barre  to  the  king.  He  de- 
clared that  extreme  necessity  and  the  despair  of 
the  people  had  forced  him  into  war,  and  protested 
that  he  should  always  think  it  a  privilege  to  lay 
down  life  for  his  Majesty.  "  I  cannot  refuse  to 
your  country  of  Canada,  and  your  faithful  sub- 
jects, to  throw  myself,  with  unequal  forces,  against 

1  There  appears  no  doubt  that  La  Barre  brought  this  upon  himself. 
His  successor,  Denonville,  writes  that  the  Iroquois  declared  that,  in 
plundering  the  canoes,  they  thought  they  were  executing  the  orders  they 
had  received  to  plunder  La  Salle's  people.  Denonville,  Me'moire  adresst 
au  Ministre  sur  les  Affaires  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  10  Aout,  1688.  The 
Iroquois  told  Dongan,  in  1684,  "that  they  had  not  don  any  thing  to 
the  French  but  what  Monsr.  delaBarr  Ordered  them,  which  was  that 
if  they  mett  with  any  French  hunting  without  his  passe  to  take  what 
they  had  from  them."     Dongan  to  Denonville,  9  Sept.,  1687. 

2  "  Ce  qui  mit  M.  de  la  Barre  en  fureur."  Belmont,  Histoire  du 
Canada. 


88  LE  FEBVRE   DE   LA   BARRE.  [1684. 

the  foe,  while  at  the  same  time  begging  your  aid 
for  a  poor,  unhappy  people  on  the  point  of  falling 
victims  to  a  nation  of  barbarians."  He  says  that 
the  total  number  of  men  in  Canada  capable  of 
bearing  arms  is  about  two  thousand ;  that  he  re- 
ceived last  year  a  hundred  and  fifty  raw  recruits ; 
and  that  he  wants,  in  addition,  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred good  soldiers.  "  Eecall  me,"  he  concludes,  "  if 
you  will  not  help  me,  for  I  cannot  bear  to  see  the 
country  perish  in  my  hands."  At  the  same  time, 
he  declares  his  intention  to  attack  the  Senecas, 
with  or  without  help,  about  the  middle  of  August.1 
Here  we  leave  him,  for  a  while,  scared,  excited, 
and  blustering. 

1  La  Barre  au  Roy,  5  Juin,  1684. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1684. 

LA  BARRE  AND  THE   IROQUOIS. 

Dongan. —  New  York  and  its  Indian  Neighbors.  —  The  Rival 
Governors.  —  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Mission  to  Onon- 
daga.—  An  Iroquois  Politician.  —  Warnings  of  Lamberville. 

—  Iroquois  Boldness.  —  La  Barre  takes  the  Field.  —  His 
Motives.  —  The  March. — Pestilence.  —  Council  at  La  Famine. 

—  The  Iroquois  defiant.  —  Humiliation  of  La  Barre. —The 
Indian  Allies. — Their  Rage  and  Disappointment. — Recall 
of  La  Barre. 

The  Dutch  colony  of  New  Netherland  had  now 
become  the  English  colony  of  New  York.  Its 
proprietor,  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II. 
of  England,  had  appointed  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan 
its  governor.  He  was  a  Catholic  Irish  gentleman 
of  high  rank,  nephew  of  the  famous  Earl  of  Tyr- 
connel,  and  presumptive  heir  to  the  earldom  of 
Limerick.  He  had  served  in  France,  was  familiar 
with  its  language,  and  partial  to  its  king  and  its 
nobility ;  but  he  nevertheless  gave  himself  with 
vigor  to  the  duties  of  his  new  trust. 

The  Dutch  and  English  colonists  aimed  at  a 
share  in  the  western  fur  trade,  hitherto  a  monopoly 
of  Canada ;  and  it  is  said  that  Dutch  traders  had 
already  ventured  among  the  tribes  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  boldly  poaching  on  the  French  preserves. 


90  LA   BAKRE  AND  THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

Dongan  did  liis  utmost  to  promote  their  interests, 
so  far  at  least  as  was  consistent  with  his  instruc- 
tions from  the  Duke  of  York,  enjoining  him  to 
give  the  French  governor  no  just  cause  of  offence.1 

For  several  years  past,  the  Iroquois  had  made 
forays  against  the  borders  of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia, plundering  and  killing  the  settlers ;  and  a 
declared  rupture  between  those  colonies  and  the 
savage  confederates  had  more  than  once  been  im- 
minent. The  English  believed  that  these  hostili- 
ties were  instigated  by  the  Jesuits  in  the  Iroquois 
villages.  There  is  no  proof  whatever  of  the  ac- 
cusation ;  but  it  is  certain  that  it  was  the  interest 
of  Canada*  to  provoke  a  war  which  might,  sooner 
or  later,  involve  New  York.  In  consequence  of  a 
renewal  of  such  attacks,  Lord  Howard  of  Effing- 
ham, governor  of  Virginia,  came  to  Albany  in  the 
summer  of  1684,  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Iro- 
quois. 

The  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  and  Cayugas  were  the 
offending  tribes.  They  all  promised  friendship  for 
the  future.  A  hole  was  dug  in  the  court-yard  of 
the  council  house,  each  of  the  three  threw  a  hatchet 
into  it,  and  Lord  Howard  and  the  representative  of 

i  Sir  John  Werden  to  Dongan,  4  Dec,  1684 ;  iV.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III. 
353.     Werden  was  the  duke's  secretary. 

Dongan  has  been  charged  with  instigating  the  Iroquois  to  attack  the 
French.  The  Jesuit  Lamberville,  writing  from  Onondaga,  says,  on  the 
contrary,  that  he  hears  that  the  "  governor  of  New  England  (New  York), 
when  the  Mohawk  chiefs  asked  him  to  continue  the  sale  of  powder  to 
them,  replied  that  it  should  be  continued  so  long  as  they  would  not  make 
war  on  Christians."     Lamberville  a  La  Barre,  10  Fev.,  1684. 

The  French  ambassador  at  London  complained  that  Dongan  excited 
the  Iroquois  to  war,  and  Dongan  denied  the  charge.  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
III.  506,  509. 


1084.]  ENGLISH  AND  IROQUOIS.  91 

Maryland  added  two  others ;  then  the  hole  was 
filled,  the  song  of  peace  was  sung,  and  the  high 
contracting  parties  stood  pledged  to  mutual  accord.1 
The  Mohawks  were  also  at  the  council,  and  the 
Senecas  soon  after  arrived ;  so  that  all  the  confed- 
eracy was  present  by  its  deputies.  Not  long  before, 
La  Barre,  then  in  the  heat  of  his  martial  prepara- 
tions, had  sent  a  messenger  to  Don^an  with  a  let- 
ter,  informing  him  that,  as  the  Senecas  and  Cayugas 
had  plundered  French  canoes  and  assaulted  a 
French  fort,  he  was  compelled  to  attack  them,  and 
begging  that  the  Dutch  and  English  colonists  should 
be  forbidden  to  supply  them  with  arms.2  This 
letter  produced  two  results,  neither  of  them  agree- 
able to  the  writer  :  first,  the  Iroquois  were  fully 
warned  of  the  designs  of  the  French  ;  and,  secondly, 
Dongan  gained  the  opportunity  he  wanted  of  as- 
serting the  claim  of  his  king  to  sovereignty  over 
the  confederacy,  and  possession  of  the  whole 
country  south  of  the  Great  Lakes.  He  added 
that,  if  the  Iroquois  had  done  wrong,  he  would  re- 
quire them,  as  British  subjects,  to  make  reparation  ; 
and  he  urged  La  Barre,  for  the  sake  of  peace  be- 
tween the  two  colonies,  to  refrain  from  his  intended 
invasion  of  British  territory.3 

Dongan  next  laid  before  the  assembled  sachems 
the  complaints  made  against  them  in  the  letter  of 
La  Barre.  They  replied  by  accusing  the  French 
of  carrying  arms  to  their  enemies,  the  Illinois  and 

1  Report  of  Conferences  at  Albany,  in  Colden,  History  of  the  Five 
Nations,  50  (ed.  1727,  Shea's  reprint). 

2  La  Barre  a  Dongan,  15  Jain,  1684. 

3  Donyan  a  La  Barre,  24  Juin,  1684. 


92  LA  BAKRE  AXD   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

the  Miamis.  "  Onontio,"  said  their  orator,  "  calls 
us  his  children,  and  then  helps  our  enemies  to 
knock  us  in  the  head."  They  were  somewhat 
disturbed  at  the  prospect  of  La  Barre's  threatened 
attack  ;  and  Dongan  seized  the  occasion  to  draw 
from  them  an  acknowledgment  of  subjection  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  promising  in  return  that  they  should 
be  protected  from  the  French.  They  did  not  hesi- 
tate. "We  put  ourselves,"  said  the  Iroquois 
speaker,  "  under  the  great  sachem  Charles,  who 
lives  over  the  Great  Lake,  and  under  the  protection 
of  the  great  Duke  of  York,  brother  of  your  great 
sachem."  But  he  added  a  moment  after,  "  Let  your 
friend  [King  Charles)  who  lives  over  the  Great 
Lake  know  that  we  are  a  free  people,  though 
united  to  the  English."  ]  They  consented  that  the 
arms  of  the  Duke  of  York  should  be  planted  in 
their  villages,  being  told  that  this  would  prevent 
the  French  from  destroying  them.  Dongan  now 
insisted  that  they  should  make  no  treaty  with 
Ouontio  without  his  consent ;  and  he  promised  that, 
if  their  country  should  be  invaded,  he  would  send 
four  hundred  horsemen  and  as  many  foot  soldiers 
to  their  aid. 

As  for  the  acknowledgment  of  subjection  to  the 
king  and  the  Duke  of  York,  the  Iroquois  neither 
understood  its  full  meaning  nor  meant  to  abide  by 
it.  What  they  did  clearly  understand  was  that, 
while  they  recognized  Onontio,  the  governor  of 
Canada,    as    their    father,    they    recognized    Cor- 

1  Speech  of  the  Onondagas  and  Cayugas,  in  Colden,  Five  Nations,  63 
(1727). 


1684.]  MISSION  TO    ONONDAGA.  93 

laer,  the  governor  of  New  York,  only  as  their 
brother.1  Dongan,  it  seems,  could  not,  or  dared 
not,  change  this  mark  of  equality.  He  did  his  best, 
however,  to  make  good  his  claims,  and  sent  Arnold 
Yiele,  a  Dutch  interpreter,  as  his  envoy  to  Onon- 
daga. Yiele  set  out  for  the  Iroquois  capital,  and 
thither  we  will  follow  him. 

He  mounted  his  horse,  and  in  the  heats  of 
August  rode  westward  along  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk.  On  a  hill  a  bow-shot  from  the  river,  he 
saw  the  first  Mohawk  town,  Kaghnawaga,  encircled 
by  a  strong  palisade.  Next  he  stopped  for  a  time 
at  Gandagaro,  on  a  meadow  near  the  bank ;  and 
next,  at  Canajora,  on  a  plain  two  miles  away. 
Tionondogue,  the  last  and  strongest  of  these  forti- 
fied villages,  stood  like  the  first  on  a  hill  that  over- 
looked the  river,  and  all  the  rich  meadows  around 
were  covered  with  Indian  corn.  The  largest  of 
the  four  contained  but  thirty  houses,  and  all  to- 
gether could  furnish  scarcely  more  than  three 
hundred  warriors.2 

When  the  last  Mohawk  town  was  passed,  a  ride 
of  four  or  five  days  still  lay  before  the  envoy.  He 
held  his  Avay  along  the  old  Indian  trail,  now  traced 
through  the  grass  of  sunny  meadoAvs,  and  now  tun- 
nelled through  the  dense  green  of  shady  forests, 
till  it  led  him  to  the  town  of  the  Oneidas,  contain- 

1  Except  the  small  tribe  of  the  Oneidas,  who  addressed  Corlaer  as 
Father.  Corlaer  was  the  official  Iroquois  name  of  the  governor  of  New 
York  ;  Onas  (the  Feather,  or  Pen),  that  of  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  ; 
and  Assarigoa  (the  Big  Knife,  or  Sword),  that  of  the  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia. Corlaer,  or  Cuyler,  was  the  name  of  a  Dutchman  whom  the 
Iroquois  held  in  great  respect. 

2  Journal  of  Wentworth  Greenhak/h,  1677,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  250. 


94  LA  BARRE   AND   THE  IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

ing  about  a  hundred  bark  houses,  with  twice  as 
many  fighting  men,  the  entire  force  of  the  tribe. 
Here,  as  in  the  four  Mohawk  villages,  he  planted 
the  scutcheon  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and,  still  ad- 
vancing, came  at  length  to  a  vast  open  space  where 
the  rugged  fields,  patched  with  growing  corn, 
sloped  upwards  into  a  broad,  low  hill,  crowned  with 
the  clustered  lodges  of  Onondaga.  There  were 
from  one  to  two  hundred  of  these  large  bark  dwell- 
ings, most  of  them  holding  several  families.  The 
capital  of  the  confederacy  was  not  fortified  at 
this  time,  and  its  only  defence  was  the  valor  of 
some  four  hundred  warriors.1 

In  this  focus  of  trained  and  organized  savagery, 
where  ferocity  was  cultivated  as  a  virtue,  and  every 
emotion  of  pity  stifled  as  unworthy  of  a  man  ;  where 
ancient  rites,  customs,  and  traditions  were  held 
with  the  tenacity  of  a  people  who  joined  the 
extreme  of  wildness  with  the  extreme  of  con- 
servatism, —  here  burned  the  council  fire  of  the 
five  confederate  tribes ;  and  here,  in  time  of  need, 
were  gathered  their  bravest  and  their  wisest  to 
debate  high  questions  of  policy  and  war. 

The  object  of  Yiele  was  to  confirm  the  Iroquois 
in  their  very  questionable  attitude  of  subjection 
to  the  British  crown,  and  persuade  them  to  make 
no  treaty  or  agreement  with  the  French,  except 
through  the  intervention  of  Dongan,  or  at  least 

i  Journal  of  Greenhalgh.  The  site  of  Onondaga,  like  that  of  all  the 
Iroquois  towns,  was  changed  from  time  to  time,  as  the  soil  of  the 
neighborhood  became  impoverished,  and  the  supply  of  wood  exhausted. 
Greenhalgh,  in  1677,  estimated  the  warriors  at  three  hundred  and  fifty; 
but  the  number  had  increased  of  late  by  the  adoption  of  prisoners. 


1684.]  AN  IROQUOIS  POLITICIAN.  95 

with  his  consent.  The  envoy  found  two  French- 
men in  the  town,  whose  presence  boclecl  ill  to  his 
errand.  The  first  was  the  veteran  colonist  of  Mon- 
treal, Charles  le  Moyne,  sent  by  La  Barre  to  invite 
the  Ononclagas  to  a  conference.  They  had  known 
him,  in  peace  or  war,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  ; 
and  they  greatly  respected  him.  The  other  was 
the  Jesuit  Jean  de  Lamberville,  who  had  long 
lived  among  them,  and  knew  them  better  than 
they  knew  themselves.  Here,  too,  was  another 
personage  who  cannot  pass  unnoticed.  He  was  a 
famous  Onondaga  orator  named  Otreouati,  and 
called  also  Big  Mouth,  whether  by  reason  of  the 
dimensions  of  that  feature  or  the  greatness  of  the 
wisdom  that  issued  from  it.  His  contemporary, 
Baron  La  Hontan,  thinking  perhaps  that  his 
French  name  of  La  Grande  Gueule  was  wanting 
in  dignity,  Latinized  it  into  Grangula ;  and  the 
Scotchman,  Golden,  afterwards  improved  it  into 
Garangula,  under  which  high-sounding  appellation 
Big  Mouth  has  descended  to  posterity.  He  was 
an  astute  old  savage,  well  trained  in  the  arts  of 
Iroquois  rhetoric,  and  gifted  with  the  power  of 
strong  and  caustic  sarcasm,  which  has  marked 
more  than  one  of  the  chief  orators  of  the  confeder- 
acy. He  shared  with  most  of  his  countrymen  the 
conviction  that  the  earth  had  nothing  so  great  as 
the  league  of  the  Iroquois ;  but,  if  he  could  be 
proud  and  patriotic,  so  too  he  could  be  selfish  and 
mean.  He  valued  gifts,  attentions,  and  a  good 
meal,  and  would  pay  for  them  abundantly  in 
promises,  which  he  kept  or  not,  as  his  own  interests 


96  LA  BARRE   AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

or  those  of  his  people  might  require.  He  could 
use  bold  and  loud  words  in  public,  and  then  secretly 
make  his  peace  with  those  he  had  denounced. 
He  was  so  given  to  rough  jokes  that  the  intenclant, 
Meules,  calls  him  a  buffoon  ;  but  his  buffoonery 
seems  to  have  been  often  a  cover  to  his  craft. 
He  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  council  of 
the  preceding  summer  at  Montreal ;  and,  doubt- 
less, as  he  stood  in  full  dress  before  the  governor 
and  the  officers,  his  head  plumed,  his  face  painted, 
his  figure  draped  in  a  colored  blanket,  and  his 
feet  decked  with  embroidered  moccasins,  he  was  a 
picturesque  and  striking  object.  He  was  less  so 
as  he  squatted  almost  naked  by  his  lodge  fire,  with 
a  piece  of  board  laid  across  his  lap,  chopping  rank 
tobacco  with  a  scalping-knife  to  fill  his  pipe,  and 
entertaining  the  grinning  circle  with  grotesque 
stories  and  obscene  jests.  Though  not  one  of  the 
hereditary  chiefs,  his  influence  was  great.  "  He 
has  the  strongest  head  and  the  loudest  voice 
among  the  Iroquois,"  wrote  Lamberville  to  La 
Barre.  aHe  calls  himself  your  best  friend.  .  .  . 
He  is  a  venal  creature,  whom  you  clo  well  to  keep 
in  pay.  I  assured  him  I  would  send  him  the  jerkin 
you  promised."  1  Well  as  the  Jesuit  knew  the 
Iroquois,  he  was  deceived  if  he  thought  that  Big 
Mouth  was  securely  won. 

Lamberville's  constant  effort  was  to  prevent  a 
rupture.  He  wrote  with  every  opportunity  to  the 
governor,  painting  the  calamities  that  war  would 

1  Letters  of  Lamberville  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  For  specimens  of 
Big  Mouth's  skill  in  drawing,  see  ibid.,  IX.  886. 


1684.]  WARNINGS   OF  LAMBERVILLE.  97 

bring,  and  warning  him  that  it  was  vain  to  hope 
that  the  league  could  be  divided,  and  its  three 
eastern  tribes  kept  neutral,  while  the  Senecas 
were  attacked.  He  assured  him,  on  the  contrary, 
that  they  would  all  unite  to  fall  upon  Canada, 
ravaging,  burning,  and  butchering  along  the  whole 
range  of  defenceless  settlements.  "  You  cannot 
believe,  Monsieur,  with  what  joy  the  Senecas 
learned  that  you  might  possibly  resolve  on  war. 
When  they  heard  of  the  preparations  at  Fort 
Frontenac,  they  said  that  the  French  had  a  great 
mind  to  be  stripped,  roasted,  and  eaten  ;  and  that 
they  will  see  if  their  flesh,  which  they  suppose  to 
have  a  salt  taste,  by  reason  of  the  salt  which  we 
use  with  our  food,  be  as  good  as  that  of  their  other 
enemies."  *  Lamberville  also  informs  the  gover- 
nor that  the  Senecas  have  made  ready  for  any 
emergency,  buried  their  last  year's  corn,  pre- 
pared a  hiding  place  in  the  depth  of  the  forest  for 
their  old  men,  women,  and  children,  and  stripped 
their  towns  of  every  thing  that  they  value  ;  and 
that  their  fifteen  hundred  warriors  will  not  shut 
themselves  up  in  forts,  but  light  under  cover, 
among  trees  and  in  the  tall  grass,  with  little  risk 
to  themselves  and  extreme  danger  to  the  invader. 
"  There  is  no  profit,"  he  says,  "  in  fighting  with 
this  sort  of  banditti,  whom  you  cannot  catch,  but 
who  will  catch  many  of  your  people.  The  Onon- 
clagas  wish  to  bring  about  an  agreement.  Must 
the  father  and  the  children,  they  ask,  cut  each 
other's  throats?" 

1  Lamberville  to  La  Barre,  11  July,  1684,  in  N.  Y.  Col  Does.,  IX.  253. 

'7 


98  LA   BARRE   AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1084. 

The  Onondagas,  moved  by  the  influence  of  the 
Jesuit  and  the  gifts  of  La  Barre,  did  in  fact  wish 
to  act  as  mediators  between  their  Seneca  confeder- 
ates and  the  French  ;  and  to  this  end  they  invited 
the  Seneca  elders  to  a  council.  The  meeting  took 
place  before  the  arrival  of  Viele,  and  lasted  two 
days.  The  Senecas  were  at  first  refractory,  and 
hot  for  war,  but  at  length  consented  that  the 
Onondagas  might  make  peace  for  them,  if  they 
could ;  a  conclusion  which  was  largely  due  to  the 
eloquence  of  Big  Mouth. 

The  first  act  of  Viele  was  a  blunder.  He  told 
the  Onondagas  that  the  English  governor  was 
master  of  their  country  ;  and  that,  as  they  were 
subjects  of  the  king  of  England,  they  must  hold 
no  council  with  the  French  without  permission. 
The  pride  of  Big  Mouth  was  touched.  "  You 
say,"  he  exclaimed  to  the  envoy,  "  that  we  are 
subjects  of  the  king  of  England  and  the  Duke  of 
York  ;  but  we  say  that  we  are  brothers.  We  must 
take  care  of  ourselves.  The  coat  of  arms  which 
you  have  fastened  to  that  post  cannot  defend  us 
against  Onontio.  We  tell  you  that  we  shall  bind  a 
covenant  chain  to  our  arm  and  to  his.  We  shall 
take  the  Senecas  by  one  hand  and  Onontio  by  the 
other,  and  their  hatchet  and  his  sword  shall  be 
thrown  into  deep  water."1 

Thus  well  and  manfully  did  Big  Mouth  assert 
the  independence  of  his  tribe,  and  proclaim  it 
the  arbiter  of  peace.  He  told  the  warriors,  more- 
over, to  close  their  ears  to  the  words  of  the  Dutch- 

1  Colden,  Five  Nations,  80  (1727). 


1684.]  LA  BARRE   TAKES   THE  FIELD.  99 

man,  who  spoke  as  if  he  were  drunk  ; *  and  it  was 
resolved  at  last  that  he,  Big  Mouth,  with  an  em- 
bassy of  chiefs  and  elders,  should  go  with  Le 
Moyne  to  meet  the  French  governor. 

While  these  things  were  passing  at  Onondaga, 
La  Barre  had  finished  his  preparations,  and  was 
now  in  full  campaign.  Before  setting  out,  he  had 
written  to  the  minister  that  he  was  about  to  ad- 
vance on  the  enemy,  with  seven  hundred  Cana- 
dians, a  hundred  and  thirty  regulars,  and  two  hun- 
dred mission  Indians  ;  that  more  Indians  were  to 
join  him  on  the  way ;  that  Du  Lhut  and  La  Duran- 
taye  were  to  meet  him  at  Niagara  with  a  body  of 
coiireurs  cle  bois  and  Indians  from  the  interior  ; 
and  that,  "  when  we  are  all  united,  we  will  perish 
or  destroy  the  enemy."2  On  the  same  day,  he 
wrote  to  the  king  :  "  My  purpose  is  to  exterminate 
the  Senecas ;  for  otherwise  your  Majesty  need 
take  no  farther  account  of  this  country,  since  there 
is  no  hope  of  peace  with  them,  except  when  they 
are  driven  to  it  by  force.  I  pray  you  do  not 
abandon  me  ;  and  be  assured  that  I  shall  do  my 
duty  at  the  head  of  your  faithful  colonists."  3 

A  few  days  after  writing  these  curiously  inco- 
herent epistles,  La  Barre  received  a  letter  from  his 
colleague,  Meules,  who  had  no  belief  that  he  meant 
to  fight,  and  was  determined  to  compel  him  to  do 
so,  if  possible.  "  There  is  a  report,"  wrote  the 
intendant,  "  that  you  mean  to  make  peace.  It  is 
doing  great  harm.     Our  Indian  allies  will  despise 

1  LamberviUe  to  La  Barre,  28  Aug.,  1684,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  257. 

2  La  Barre  au  Ministre,  9  July,  1684. 

3  La  Barre  au  Roy,  meme  date. 


100  LA   BAKTCE  AND   THE  IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

us.  I  trust  the  story  is  untrue,  and  that  3-011  will 
listen  to  no  overtures.  The  expense  has  been 
enormous.  The  whole  population  is  roused." l 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  Meules  sent  the  general 
a  second  letter,  meant,  like  the  first,  as  a  tonic 
and  a  stimulant.  "  If  Ave  come  to  terms  with 
the  Iroquois,  without  first  making  them  feel  the 
strength  of  our  arms,  we  may  expect  that,  in 
future,  they  will  do  every  thing  they  can  to 
humiliate  us,  because  we  drew  the  sword  against 
them,  and  showed  them  our  teeth.  I  do  not  think 
that  any  course  is  now  left  for  us  but  to  carry  the 
war  to  their  very  doors,  and  do  our  utmost  to 
reduce  them  to  such  a  point  that  they  shall  never 
again  be  heard  of  as  a  nation,  but  only  as  our  sub- 
jects and  slaves.  If,  after  having  gone  so  far,  we 
do  not  fight  them,  we  shall  lose  all  our  trade,  and 
bring  this  country  to  the  brink  of  ruin.  The 
Iroquois,  and  especially  the  Senecas,  pass  for  great 
cowards.  The  Eeverencl  Father  Jesuit,  who  is  at 
Prairie  de  la  Madeleine,  told  me  as  much  yester- 
day ;  and,  though  he  has  never  been  among  them, 
he  assured  me  that  he  has  heard  everybody  say 
so.  But,  even  if  they  were  brave,  we  ought  to  be 
very  glad  of  it ;  since  then  we  could  hope  that 
they  would  wait  our  attack,  and  give  us  a  chance 
to  beat  them.  If  we  do  not  destroy  them,  they 
will  destroy  us.  I  think  you  see  but  too  well  that 
your  honor  and  the  safety  of  the  country  are 
involved  in  the  results  of  this  war."2 

1  MevJes  a  La  Barre,  15  July,  1684. 

2  Meules  a  La  Barre,  14  Aout,  1684.  This  and  the  preceding  letter 
stand,  by  a  copyist's  error,  in  the  name  of  La  Barre.  They  are  certainly 
written  by  Meules. 


1681]  ACCUSATIONS   OF  MEULES.  101 

While  Meules  thus  wrote  to  the  governor,  he 
wrote  also  to  the  minister,  Seignelay,  and  expressed 
his  views  with  great  distinctness.  "  I  feel  bound 
in  conscience  to  tell  you  that  nothing  was  ever 
heard  of  so  extraordinary  as  what  we  see  done  in 
this  country  every  day.  One  would  think  that 
there  was  a  divided  empire  here  between  the  king 
and  the  governor ;  and,  if  things  should  go  on  long 
in  this  way,  the  governor  would  have  a  far  greater 
share  than  his  Majesty.  The  persons  whom  Mon- 
sieur la  Barre  has  sent  this  year  to  trade  at  Fort 
Frontenac  have  already  shared  with  him  from  ten 
to  twelve  thousand  crowns."  He  then  recounts 
numerous  abuses  and  malversations  on  the  part  of 
the  governor.  "  In  a  word,  Monseigneur,  this 
war  has  been  decided  upon  in  the  cabinet  of  Mon- 
sieur the  general,  along  with  six  of  the  chief  mer- 
chants of  the  country.  If  it  had  not  served  their 
plans,  he  would  have  found  means  to  settle  every 
thing  ;  but  the  merchants  made  him  understand 
that  they  were  in  danger  of  being  plundered,  and 
that,  having  an  immense  amount  of  merchandise 
in  the  woods  in  nearly  two  hundred  canoes  fitted 
out  last  year,  it  was  better  to  make  use  of  the 
people  ,of  the  country  to  carry  on  war  against  the 
Senecas.  This  being  clone,  he  hopes  to  make  ex- 
traordinary profits  without  any  risk,  because  one 
of  two  things  will  happen  :  either  we  shall  gain 
some  considerable  advantage  over  the  savages,  as 
there  is  reason  to  hope,  if  Monsieur  the  general 
will  but  attack  them  in  their  villages ;  or  else  we 
shall  make  a  peace  which  will  keep  every  thing 


102  LA   BARRE   AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

» 

safe  for  a  time.  These  are  assuredly  the  sole 
motives  of  this  war,  which  has  for  principle  and 
end  nothing  but  mere  interest.  He  says  himself 
that  there  is  good  fishing  in  troubled  waters.1 

"  With  all  our  preparations  for  war,  and  all  the 
expense  in  which  Monsieur  the  general  is  involving 
his  Majesty,  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  tell  you, 
Monseigneur,  though  I  am  no  prophet,  that  I  dis- 
cover no  disposition  on  the  part  of  Monsieur  the 
general  to  make  war  against  the  aforesaid  savages. 
In  my  belief,  he  will  content  himself  with  going  in 
a  canoe  as  far  as  Fort  Frontenac,  and  then  send 
for  the  Senecas  to  treat  of  peace  with  them,  and 
deceive  the  people,  the  intendant,  and,  if  I  may 
be  allowed  with  all  possible  respect  to  say  so,  his 
Majesty  himself. 

"  P.  S.  —  I  will  finish  this  letter,  Monseigneur, 
by  telling  you  that  he  set  out  yesterday,  July  10th, 
with  a  detachment  of  two  hundred  men.  All 
Quebec  was  filled  with  grief  to  see  him  embark 
on  an  expedition  of  war  tete-a-tete  with  the  man 
named  La  Chesnaye.  Everybody  says  that  the 
war  is  a  sham,  that  these  two  will  arrange  every 

1  The  famous  voyageur,  Nicolas  Perrot,  agrees  with  the  intendant. 
"  lis  (La  Barre  et  ses  associe's)  s'imaginerent  que  sitost  que  le  Francois 
vienclroit  a  paroistre,  PIrroquois  luy  demanderoit  misericorde,  qu'il  seroit 
facile  d'establir  des  magasins,  construiredes  barques  dans  le  lac  Ontario, 
et  que  c'estoit  un  moyen  de  trouver  des  richesses."  Me'moire  star  les 
Mcmrs,  Coustumes,  et  Relligion  des  Sauvages,  chap.  xxi. 

The  Sulpitian,  Abbe  Belmont,  says  that  the  avarice  of  the  merchants 
was  the  cause  of  the  war  ;  that  they  and  La  Barre  wished  to  prevent  the 
Iroquois  from  interrupting  trade  ;  and  that  La  Barre  aimed  at  an  indem- 
nity for  the  sixteen  hundred  livres  in  merchandise  which  the  Senecas 
had  taken  from  his  canoes  early  in  the  year.  Belmont  adds  that  he 
wanted  to  bring  them  to  terms  without  fighting. 


1684.]  THE   MARCH.  103 

thing  between  them,  and,  in  a  word,  do  whatever 
will  help  their  trade.  The  whole  country  is  in 
despair  to  see  how  matters   are  managed."  * 

After  a  long  stay  at  Montreal,  La  Barre  em- 
barked his  little  army  at  La  Chine,  crossed  Lake 
St.  Louis,  and  began  the  ascent  of  the  upper  St. 
Lawrence.  In  one  of  the  three  companies  of 
regulars  which  formed  a  part  of  the  force  was  a 
young  subaltern,  the  Baron  la  Hontan,  who  has 
left  a  lively  account  of  the  expedition.  Some  of 
the  men  were  in  flat  boats,  and  some  were  in  birch 
canoes.  Of  the  latter  was  La  Hontan,  whose  craft 
was  paddled  by  three  Canadians.  Several  times 
they  shouldered  it  through  the  forest  to  escape  the 
turmoil  of  the  rapids.  The  flat  boats  could  not 
be  so  handled,  and  were  dragged  or  pushed  up 
in  the  shallow  water  close  to  the  bank,  by  gangs 
of  militia  men,  toiling  and  struggling  among  the 
rocks  and  foam.  The  regulars,  unskilled  in  such 
matters,  were  spared  these  fatigues,  though  tor- 
mented night  and  clay  by  swarms  of  gnats  and 
mosquitoes,  objects  of  La  Hontan's  bitterest  invec- 
tive. At  length  the  last  rapid  was  passed,  and  they 
moved  serenely  on  their  way,  threaded  the  mazes 
of  the  Thousand  Islands,  entered  what  is  now  the 
harbor  of  Kingston,  and  landed  under  the  palisades 
of  Fort  Frontenac. 

Here  the  whole  force  was  soon  assembled,  the 
regulars  in  their  tents,  the  Canadian  militia  and 
the  Indians  in  huts  and  under  sheds  of  bark.  Of 
these  reel  allies  there  were  several  hundred  :  Abe- 

1  Meuhs  au  Ministre,  8-11  Juillet,  1681. 


104  LA  BARRE  AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

nakis  and  Algon quins  from  Sillery,  Hurons  from 
Lorette,  and  converted  Iroquois  from  the  Jesuit 
mission  of  Saut  St.  Louis,  near  Montreal.  The 
camp  of  the  French  was  on  a  low,  clamp  plain  near 
the  fort ;  and  here  a  malarious  fever  presently 
attacked  them,  killing  many  and  disabling  many 
more.  La  Hon  tan  says  that  La  Barre  himself  was 
brought  by  it  to  the  brink  of  the  grave.  If  he  had 
ever  entertained  any  other  purpose  than  that  of 
inducing  the  Senecas  to  agree  to  a  temporary 
peace,  he  now  completely  abandoned  it.  He  dared 
not  even  insist  that  the  offending  tribe  should  meet 
him  in  council,  but  hastened  to  ask  the  mediation 
of  the  Ononclagas,  which  the  letters  of  Lamberville 
had  assured  him  that  they  were  disposed  to  offer. 
He  sent  Le  Moyne  to  persuade  them  to  meet  him 
on  their  own  side  of  the  lake,  and,  with  such  of  his 
men  as  were  able  to  move,  crossed  to  the  mouth 
of  Salmon  River,  then  called  La  Famine. 

The  name  proved  prophetic.  Provisions  fell 
short  from  bad  management  in  transportation,  and 
the  men  grew  hungry  and  discontented.  Septem- 
ber had  begun  ;  the  place  was  unwholesome,  and 
the  malarious  fever  of  Fort  Frontenac  infected  the 
new  encampment.  The  soldiers  sickened  rapidly. 
La  Barre,  racked  with  suspense,  waited  impatiently 
the  return  of  Le  Moyne.  We  have  seen  already 
the  result  of  his  mission,  and  how  he  and  Lamber- 
ville, in  spite  of  the  envoy  of  the  English  governor, 
gained  from  the  Onondaga  chiefs  the  promise  to 
meet  Onontio  in  council.  Le  Moyne  appeared  at 
La   Famine  on  the  third  of   the  month,  bringing 


1681.]  LA  FAMINE.  105 

with  him  Big  Mouth  and  thirteen  other  deputies. 
La  Barre  gave  them  a  feast  of  bread,  wine,  and 
salmon  trout,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth 
the  council  began. 

Before  the  deputies  arrived,  the  governor  had 
sent  the  sick  men  homeward  in  order  to  conceal 
his  helpless  condition;  and  he  now  told  the  Iro- 
quois that  he  had  left  his  army  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
and  had  come  to  meet  them  attended  only  by  an 
escort.  The  Onondaga  politician  was  not  to  be  so 
deceived.  He,  or  one  of  his  party,  spoke  a  little 
French ;  and  during  the  night,  roaming  noiselessly 
among  the  tents,  he  contrived  to  learn  the  true 
state  of  the  case  from  the  soldiers. 

The  council  was  held  on  an  open  spot  near  the 
French  encampment.  La  Barre  was  seated  in  an 
arm-chair.  The  Jesuit  Bruyas  stood  by  him  as 
interpreter,  and  the  officers  were  ranged  on  his 
right  and  left.  The  Indians  sat  on  the  ground  in 
a  row  opposite  the  governor;  and  two  lines  of 
soldiers,  forming  two  sides  of  a  square,  closed  the 
intervening  space.  Among  the  officers  was  La 
Hontan,  a  spectator  of  the  whole  proceeding.  He 
may  be  called  a  man  in  advance  of  his  time  ;  for  he 
had  the  caustic,  sceptical,  and  mocking  spirit  which 
a  century  later  marked  the  approach  of  the  great 
revolution,  but  which  was  not  a  characteristic  of 
the  reign  of  Louis  XIY.  He  usually  told  the  truth 
when  he  had  no*  motive  to  do  otherwise,  and  yet 
was   capable    at  times  of   prodigious  mendacity.1 

1  La  Hon  Ian  attempted  to  impose  on  his  readers  a  marvellous  story 
of  pretended  discoveries  beyond  the  Mississippi ;  and  his  ill  repute  in  the 


106  LA  BARRE   AND  THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  indulged  in  it 
on  the  present  occasion,  and  his  account  of  what 
he  now  saw  and  heard  may  probably  be  taken  as 
substantially  correct.  According  to  him,  La  Barre 
opened  the  council  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  king  my  master,  being  informed  that  the 
Five  Nations  of  the  Iroquois  have  long  acted  in  a 
manner  adverse  to  peace,  has  ordered  me  to  come 
with  an  escort  to  this  place,  and  to  send  Akouessan 
{Le  Moyne)  to  Onondaga  to  invite  the  principal 
chiefs  to  meet  me.  It  is  the  wish  of  this  great 
king  that  you  and  I  should  smoke  the  calumet  of 
peace  together,  provided  that  you  promise,  in 
the  name  of  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas, 
Cayugas,  and  Senecas,  to  give  entire  satisfaction 
and  indemnity  to  his  subjects,  and  do  nothing 
in  future  which  may  occasion,  rupture." 

Then  he  recounted  the  offences  of  the  Iroquois. 
First,  they  had  maltreated  and  robbed  French 
traders  in  the  country  of  the  Illinois ;  "  where- 
fore," said  the  governor,  "  I  am  ordered  to  demand 
reparation,  and  in  case  of  refusal  to  declare  war 
against  you." 

Next,  "  the  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations  have 
introduced  the  English  into  the  lakes  which  belong 
to  the  king  my  master,  and  among  the  tribes  who 
are  his  children,  in  order  to  destroy  the  trade  of 
his  subjects,  and  seduce  these  people  from  the 
obedience  they  owe  him.  I  am  willing  to  forget 
this ;  but,  should  it  happen  again,  I  am  expressly 
ordered  to  declare  war  against  you." 

matter  of  veracity  is  due  chiefly  to  this  fabrication.  On  the  other  hand, 
his  account  of  what  he  saw  in  the  colony  is  commonly  in  accord  with 
the  best  contemporary  evideuce. 


1684.]  SPEECH   OE  BIG  MOUTH.  107 

Thirdly,  "  the  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations  have 
made  sundry  barbarous  inroads  into  the  country  of 
the  Illinois  and  Miamis,  seizing,  binding,  and  lead- 
ing into  captivity  an  infinite  number  of  these  sav- 
ages in  time  of  peace.  They  are  the  children  of 
my  king,  and  are  not  to  remain  your  slaves.  They 
must  at  once  be  set  free  and  sent  home.  If  you 
refuse  to  do  this,  I  am  expressly  ordered  to  declare 
war  against  you." 

La  Barre  concluded  by  assuring  Big  Mouth,  as 
representing  the  Five  Nations  of  the  Iroquois,  that 
the  French  would  leave  them  in  peace  if  they  made 
atonement  for  the  past,  and  promised  good  conduct 
for  the  future  ;  but  that,  if  they  did  not  heed  his 
words,  their  villages  should  be  burned,  and  they 
themselves  destroyed.  He  added,  though  he  knew 
the  contrary,  that  the  governor  of  New  York  would 
join  him  in  war  against  them. 

During  the  delivery  of  this  martial  harangue, 
Big  Mouth  sat  silent  and  attentive,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  bowl  of  his  pipe.  When  the  interpreter 
had  ceased,  he  rose,  walked  gravely  two  or  three 
times  around  the  lines  of  the  assembly,  then 
stopped  before  the  governor,  looked  steadily  at 
him,  stretched  his  tawny  arm,  opened  his  capacious 
jaws,  and  uttered  himself  as  follows  :  — 

% "  Onontio,  I  honor  you,  and  all  the  warriors  who 
are  with  me  honor  you.  Your  interpreter  has 
ended  his  speech,  and  now  I  begin  mine.  Listen 
to  my  words. 

u  Onontio,  when  you  left  Quebec,  you  must  have 
thought  that  the  heat  of  the  sun  had  burned  the 


108  LA  BARRE   AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

forests  that  make  our  country  inaccessible  to  the 
French,  or  that  the  lake  had  overflowed  them  so 
that  we  could  not  escape  from  our  villages.  You 
must  have  thought  so,  Onontio ;  and  curiosity  to 
see  such  a  fire  or  such  a  flood  must  have  brought 
you  to  this  place.  Now  your  eyes  are  opened  ;  for 
T  and  my  warriors  have  come  to  tell  you  that  the 
Senecas,  Cayugas,  Ononclagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mo- 
hawks are  all  alive.  I  thank  you  in  their  name 
for  bringing  back  the  calumet  of  peace  which  they 
gave  to  your  predecessors  ;  and  I  give  you  joy  that 
you  have  not  dug  up  the  hatchet  which  has  been 
so  often  red  with  the  blood  of  your  countrymen. 

"  Listen,  Onontio.  I  am  not  asleep.  My  eyes 
are  open ;  and  by  the  sun  that  gives  me  light  I  see 
a  great  captain  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  soldiers, 
who  talks  like  a  man  in  a  dream.  He  says  that 
he  has  come  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the 
Onondagas  ;  but  I  see  that  he  came  to  knock  them 
in  the  head,  if  so  many  of  his  Frenchmen  were  not 
too  weak  to  fight.  I  see  Onontio  raving  in  a  camp 
of  sick  men,  whose  lives  the  Great  Spirit  has  saved 
by  smiting  them  with  disease.  Our  women  had 
snatched  war-clubs,  and  our  children  and  old  men 
seized  bows  and  arrows  to  attack  your  camp,  if 
our  warriors  had  not  restrained  them,  when  }^our 
messenger,  Akouessan,  appeared  in  our  village." 

He  next  justified  the  pillage  of  French  traders 
on  the  ground,  very  doubtful  in  this  case,  that 
they  wrere  carrying  arms  to  the  Illinois,  enemies 
of  the  confederacy ;  and  he  flatly  refused  to  make 
reparation,  telling  La  Barre  that  even  the  old  men 


1684.]  SPEECH   OE  BIG  MOUTH.  109 

of  his  tribe  had  no  fear  of  the  French.  He  also 
avowed  boldly  that  the  Iroquois  had  conducted 
English  traders  to  the  lakes.  "  We  are  born  free," 
he  exclaimed,  "  we  depend  neither  on  Onontio  nor 
on  Corlaer.  We  have  the  right  to  go  whitherso- 
ever we  please,  to  take  with  us  whomever  we  please, 
and  buy  and  sell  of  whomever  we  please.  If  your 
allies  are  your  slaves  or  your  children,  treat  them 
like  slaves  or  children,  and  forbid  them  to  deal  with 
anybody  but  your  Frenchmen. 

"  We  have  knocked  the  Illinois  in  the  head,  be- 
cause they  cut  down  the  tree  of  peace  and  hunted 
the  beaver  on  our  lands.  We  have  clone  less  than 
the  English  and  the  French,  who  have  seized  upon 
the  lands  of  many  tribes,  driven  them  away?  and 
built  towns,  villages,  and  forts  in  their  country. 

"  Listen,  Onontio.  My  voice  is  the  voice  of  the 
Five  Tribes  of  the  Iroquois.  When  they  buried 
the  hatchet  at  Cataraqui  (Fort  Frontenac)  in  pres- 
ence of  your  predecessor,  they  planted  the  tree 
of  peace  in  the  middle  of  the  fort,  that  it  might  be 
a  post  of  traders  and  not  of  soldiers.  Take  care 
that  all  the  soldiers  you  have  brought  with  you, 
shut  up  in  so  small  a  fort,  do  not  choke  this  tree 
of  peace.  I  assure  you  in  the  name  of  the  Five 
Tribes  that  our  wTarriors  will  dance  the  dance  of  the 
calumet  under  its  branches ;  and  that  they  will  sit 
quiet  on  their  mats  and  never  dig  up  the  hatchet, 
till  their  brothers,  Onontio  and  Corlaer,  separately 
or  together,  make  ready  to  attack  the  country  that 
the  Great  Spirit  has  given  to  our  ancestors." 

The  session  presently  closed  \  and  La  Barre  with- 


110  LA  BARRE  AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1G&L 

drew  to  his  tent,  where,  according  to  La  Hontan, 
he  vented  his  feelings  in  invective,  till  reminded 
that  good  manners  were  not  to  be  expected  from 
an  Iroquois.  Big  Mouth,  on  his  part,  entertained 
some  of  the  French  at  a  feast  which  he  opened  in 
person  by  a  dance.  There  was  another  session  in  the 
afternoon,  and  the  terms  of  peace  were  settled  in 
the  evening.  The  tree  of  peace  was  planted  anew ; 
La  Barre  promised  not  to  attack  the  Senecas ;  and 
Big  Mouth,  in  spite  of  his  former  declaration,  con- 
sented that  they  should  make  amends  for  the 
pillage  of  the  traders.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
declared  that  the  Iroquois  would  fight  the  Illinois 
to  the  death  ;  and  La  Barre  dared  not  utter  a  word 
in  behalf  of  his  allies.  The  Onondaga  next  de- 
manded that  the  council  fire  should  be  removed 
from  Fort  Frontenac  to  La  Famine,  in  the  Iroquois 
country.  This  point  was  yielded  without  resistance  ; 
and  La  Barre  promised  to  decamp  and  set  out  for 
home  on  the  following  morning.1 

Such  was  the  futile  and  miserable  end  of  the 
grand  expedition.  Even  the  promise  to  pay  for 
the  plundered  goods  was  contemptuously  broken.2 
The  honor  rested  with  the  Iroquois.  They  had 
spurned  the  French,  repelled  the  claims  of  the 
English,  and  by  act  and  word  asserted  their  inde- 
pendence of  both. 

La  Barre  embarked  and  hastened  home  in  ad- 

i  The  articles  of  peace  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  236. 
Compare  Memoir  of  M.  cle  la  Barre  regarding  the  War  against  the  Senecas, 
ibid ,  289.  These  two  documents  do  not  agree  as  to  date,  one  placing 
the  council  on  the  4th  and  the  other  on  the  5th. 

2  This  appears  from  the  letters  of  Denonville,  La  Barre's  successor. 


1684.]  THE  INDIAN  ALLIES.  Ill 

vance  of  his  men.  His  camp  was  again  full  of  the 
sick.  Their  comrades  placed  them,  shivering  with 
ague  fits,  on  board  the  flat-boats  and  canoes ;  and 
the  whole  force,  scattered  and  disordered,  floated 
clown  the  current  to  Montreal.  Nothing  had  been 
gained  but  a  thin  and  flimsy  truce,  with  new 
troubles  and  dangers  plainly  visible  behind  it.  The 
better  to  understand  their  nature,  let  us  look  for  a 
moment  at  an  episode  of  the  campaign. 

When  La  Barre  sent  messengers  with  gifts  and 
wampum  belts  to  summon  the  Indians  of  the  Upper 
Lakes  to  join  in  the  war,  his  appeal  found  a  cold 
response.  La  Durantaye  and  Du  Lhut,  French  com- 
manders in  that  region,  vainly  urged  the  surround- 
ing tribes  to  lift  the  hatchet.  None  but  the  Hurons 
would  consent,  when,  fortunately,  Nicolas  Perrot 
arrived  at  Michillimackinac  on  an  errand  of  trade. 
This  famous  coureur  de  bois  —  a  very  different  per- 
son from  Perrot,  governor  of  Montreal  —  was  well 
skilled  in  dealing  with  Indians.  Through  his  in- 
fluence, their  scruples  were  overcome ;  and  some 
five  hundred  warriors,  Hurons,  Ottawas,  Ojibwas, 
Pottawatamies,  and  Foxes,  were  persuaded  to  em- 
bark for  the  rendezvous  at  Niagara,  along  with  a 
hundred  or  more  Frenchmen.  The  fleet  of  canoes, 
numerous  as  a  flock  of  blackbirds  in  autumn,  began 
the  long  and  weary  voyage.  The  two  commanders 
had  a  heavy  task.  Discipline  was  impossible.  The 
French  were  scarcely  less  wild  than  the  savages. 
Many  of  them  were  painted  and  feathered  like 
their  red  companions,  whose  ways  they  imitated 
with  perfect  success.     The  Indians,  on  their  part, 


112  LA    BARRE   AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

were  but  half-hearted  for  the  work  in  hand,  for  they 
had  already  discovered  that  the  English  would  pay 
twice  as  much  for  a  beaver  skin  as  the  French ; 
and  they  asked  nothing  better  than  the  appearance 
of  English  traders  on  the  lakes,  and  a  safe  peace 
with  the  Iroquois,  which  should  open  to  them  the 
market  of  New  York.  But  they  were  like  chil- 
dren with  the  passions  of  men,  inconsequent,  fickle, 
and  wayward.  They  stopped  to  hunt  on  the  shore 
of  Michigan,  where  a  Frenchman  accidentally  shot 
himself  with  his  own  gun.  Here  was  an  evil  omen. 
But  for  the  efforts  of  Perrot,  half  the  party  would 
have  given  up  the  enterprise,  and  paddled  home. 
In  the  Strait  of  Detroit  there  was  another  hunt, 
and  another  accident.  In  firing  at  a  deer,  an  In- 
dian wounded  his  own  brother.  On  this  the  tribes- 
men of  the  wounded  man  proposed  to  kill  the 
French,  as  being  the  occasion  of  the  mischance. 
Once  more  the  skill  of  Perrot  prevailed ;  but 
when  they  reached  the  Long  Point  of  Lake  Erie, 
the  Foxes,  about  a  hundred  in  number,  were  on 
the  point  of  deserting  in  a  body.  As  persuasion 
failed,  Perrot  tried  the  effect  of  taunts.  "  You  are 
cowards,"  he  said  to  the  naked  crew,  as  they 
crowded  about  him  with  their  wild  eyes  and  long 
lank  hair.  "  You  do  not  know  what  war  is  :  you 
never  killed  a  man  and  you  never  ate  one,  except 
those  that  were  given  you  tied  hand  and  foot." 
They  broke  out  against  him  in  a  storm  of  abuse. 
"  You  shall  see  whether  we  are  men.  We  are 
going  to  fight  the  Iroquois;  and,  unless  you  do  your 
part,  we  will  knock  you  in  the  head."     "  You  will 


1684.]  DISAPPOINTMENT  AND   ANGER.  113 

never  have  to  give  yourselves  the  trouble,"  retorted 
Perrot,  "for  at  the  first  war-whoop  you  will  all 
run  off."  He  gained  his  point.  Their  pride  was 
roused,  and  for  the  moment  they  were  full  of  fight.J 

Immediately  after,  there  was  trouble  with  the 
Ottawas,  who  became  turbulent  and  threatening, 
and  refused  to  proceed.  With  much  ado,  they 
were  persuaded  to  go  as  far  as  Niagara,  being 
lured  by  the  rash  assurance  of  La  Durantaye  that 
three  vessels  were  there,  loaded  with  a  present  of 
guns  for  them.  They  carried  their  canoes  by  the 
cataract,  launched  them  again,  paddled  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  and  looked  for  the  vessels  in 
vain.  At  length  a  solitary  sail  appeared  on  the 
lake.  She  brought  no  guns,  but  instead  a  letter 
from  La  Barre,  telling  them  that  peace  was 
made,  and  that  they  might. all  go  home.  Some 
of  them  had  paddled  already  a  thousand  miles,  in 
the  hope  of  seeing  the  Senecas  humbled.  They 
turned  back  in  disgust,  filled  with  wrath  and  scorn 
against  the  governor  and  all  the  French.  Canada 
had  incurred  the  contempt,  not  only  of  enemies, 
but  of  allies.  There  was  clanger  that  these  tribes 
would  repudiate  the  French  alliance,  welcome  the 
English  traders,  make  peace  at  any  price  with  the 
Iroquois,  and  carry  their  beaver  skins  to  Albany 
instead  of  Montreal. 

The  treaty  made  at  La  Famine  was  greeted  with 
contumely  through  all  the  colony.  The  governor 
found,  however,  a  comforter  in  the  Jesuit  Lamber- 

1  La  Potherie,  II.  159  (ed.  1722).  Perrot  himself,  in  his  Mceurs  des 
Sauvages,  briefly  mentions  the  incident. 

8 


114  LA  BARRE  AND   THE   IROQUOIS.  [1684. 

ville,  who  stood  fast  in  the  position  which  he  had 
held  from  the  beginning.  He  wrote  to  La  Barre  : 
"  You  deserve  the  title  of  saviour  of  the  country 
for  making  peace  at  so  critical  a  time.  In  the 
condition  in  which  your  army  was,  you  could  not 
have  advanced  into  the  Seneca  country  without 
utter  defeat.  The  Senecas  had  double  palisades, 
which  could  not  have  been  forced  without  great 
loss.  Their  plan  was  to  keep  three  hundred  men 
inside,  and  to  perpetually  harass  you  with  twelve 
hundred  others.  All  the  Iroquois  were  to  collect 
together,  and  fire  only  at  the  legs  of  your  people, 
so  as  to  master  them,  and  burn  them  at  their 
leisure,  and  then,  after  having  thinned  their  num- 
bers by  a  hundred  ambuscades  in  the  woods  and 
grass,  to  pursue  you  in  your  retreat  even  to  Mon- 
treal, and  spread  desolation  around   it."  ] 

La  Barre  was  greatly  pleased  with  this  letter, 
and  made  use  of  it  to  justify  himself  to  the 
king.  His  colleague,  Meules,  on  the  other  hand, 
declared  that  Lamberville,  anxious  to  make  favor 
with  the  governor,  had  written  only  what  La 
Barre  wished  to  hear.  The  intendant  also  informs 
the  minister  that  La  Barre's  excuses  are  a  mere 
pretence  ;  that  everybody  is  astonished  and  dis- 
gusted with  him  ;  that  the  sickness  of  the  troops 
was  his  own  fault,  because  he  kept  them  encamped 
on  wet  ground  for  an  unconscionable  length  of 
time;  that  Big  Mouth  shamefully  befooled  and 
bullied  him ;  that,  after  the  council  at  La  Famine, 
he  lost  his  wits,  and  went  off  in  a  fright;  that, 

i  Lamberville  to  La  Barre,  9  Oct.,  1684,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  260. 


1684.]  LA  BARRE  RECALLED.  115 

since  the  return  of  the  troops,  the  officers  have 
openly  expressed  their  contempt  for  him ;  and 
that  the  people  would  have  risen  against  him,  if 
he,  Meules,  had  not  taken  measures  to  quiet  them.1 
These,  with  many  other  charges,  flew  across  the 
sea  from  the  pen  of  the  intenclant. 

The  next  ship  from  France  brought  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  the  king :  — 

Monsieur  de  la  Barre,  —  Having  been  informed  that 
your  years  do  not  permit  you  to  support  the  fatigues  inseparable 
from  your  office  of  governor  and  lieutenant-general  in  Canada, 
I  send  you  this  letter  to  acquaint  you  that  I  have  selected  Mon- 
sieur de  Denonville  to  serve  in  your  place ;  and  my  intention  is 
that,  on  his  arrival,  after  resigning  to  him  the  command,  with 
all  instructions  concerning  it,  you  embark  for  your  return  to 
France.  Louis. 

La  Barre  sailed  for  home ;  and  the  Marquis  de 
Denonville,  a  pious  colonel  of  dragoons,  assumed 
the  vacant  office. 

1  Meulcs  au  Ministre,  10  Oct.,  1684. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1685-1687. 
DENONVILLE   AND  DONG  AN. 

Troubles  of  the  New  Governor.  —  His  Character.  —  English 
Rivalry.  —  Intrigues  of  Dongan. —  English  Claims.  —  A  Dip- 
lomatic Duel.  —  Overt  Acts.  —  Anger  of  Denonville. — 
James  II.  checks  Dongan.  —  Denonville  emboldened. —  Strife 
in  the  North. — Hudson's  Bay.  —  Attempted  Pacification. — 
Artifice  of  Denonville. — He  prepares  for  War. 

Denonville  embarked  at  Rochelle  in  June, 
with  his  wife  and  a  part  of  his  family.  Saint- 
Vallier,  the  destined  bishop,  was  in  the  same  ves- 
sel ;  and  the  squadron  carried  five  hundred  soldiers, 
of  whom  a  hundred  and  fifty  died  of  fever  and 
scurvy  on  the  way.  Saint-Vallier  speaks  in  glow- 
ing terms  of  the  new  governor.  "  He  spent  nearly 
all  his  time  in  prayer  and  the  reading  of  good 
books.  The  Psalms  of  David  were  always  in  his 
hands.  In  all  the  voyage,  I  never  saw  him  clo 
any  thing  wrong ;  and  there  was  nothing  in  his 
words  or  acts  which  did  not  show  a  solid  virtue 
and  a  consummate  prudence,  as  well  in  the 
duties  of  the  Christian  life  as  in  the  wisdom  of 
this  world."  J 

When  they  landed,  the  nuns  of  the  Hotel-Dieu 

i  Saint-Vallier,  Etat  Present  de  VEjlise,  4  (Quebec,  1856). 


1685.]  TROUBLES   OF  DENONVILLE.  117 

were  overwhelmed  with  the  sick.  "  Not  only  our 
halls,  but  our  church,  our  granary,  our  hen-yard, 
and  every  corner  of  the  hospital  where  we  could 
make  room,  were  filled  with  them."  * 

Much  was  expected  of  Denonville.  He  was  to 
repair  the  mischief  wrought  by  his  predecessor, 
and  restore  the  colony  to  peace,  strength,  and 
security.  The  king  had  stigmatized  La  Barre's 
treaty  with  the  Iroquois  as  disgraceful,  and  ex- 
pressed indignation  at  his  abandonment  of  the 
Illinois  allies.  All  this  was  now  to  be  changed ; 
but  it  was  easier  to  give  the  order  at  Versailles 
than  to  execute  it  in  Canada.  Denonville's  diffi- 
culties were  great ;  and  his  means  of  overcoming 
them  were  small.  What  he  most  needed  was  more 
troops  and  more  money.  The  Senecas,  insolent 
and  defiant,  were  still  attacking  the  Illinois ;  the 
tribes  of  the  north-west  were  angry,  contemptuous, 
and  disaffected  ;  the  English  of  New  York  were  urg- 
ing claims  to  the  whole  country  south  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  and  to  a  controlling  share  in  all  the  western 
fur  trade  ;  while  the  English  of  Hudson's  Bay  were 
competing  for  the  traffic  of  the  northern  tribes, 
and  the  English  of  New  England  were  seizing  upon 
the  fisheries  of  Acadia,  and  now  and  then  making 
piratical  descents  upon  its  coast.  The  great  ques- 
tion lay  between  New  York  and  Canada.  Which 
of  these  two  should  gain  mastery  in  the  west  ? 

Denonville,  like  Frontenac,  was  a  man  of  the 
army  and  the  court.  As  a  soldier,  he  had  the  ex- 
perience of  thirty  years  of  service  ;  and  he  was  in 

1  Juchereau,  Hotel-Dieu,  283. 


118  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.  [1685. 

high  repute,  not  only  for  piety,  but  for  probity  and 
honor.  He  was  devoted  to  the  Jesuits,  an  ardent 
servant  of  the  king,  a  lover  of  authority,  filled  with 
the  instinct  of  subordination  and  order,  and,  in 
short,  a  type  of  the  ideas,  religious,  political,  and 
social,  then  dominant  in  France.  He  was  greatly 
distressed  at  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  colony ; 
while  the  state  of  the  settlements,  scattered  in 
broken  lines  for  two  or  three  hundred  miles 
along  the  St.  Lawrence,  seemed  to  him  an  invita- 
tion to  destruction.  "  If  we  have  a  war,"  he  wrote, 
"  nothing  can  save  the  country  but  a  miracle  of 
God." 

Nothing  was  more  likely  than  war.  Intrigues 
were  on  foot  between  the  Senecas  and  the  tribes 
of  the  lakes,  which  threatened  to  render  the  appeal 
to  arms  a  necessity  to  the  French.  Some  of  the 
Hurons  of  Michillimackinac  were  bent  on  allying 
themselves  with  the  English.  "  They  like  the 
manners  of  the  French,"  wrote  Denonville  ;  "but 
they  like  the  cheap  goods  of  the  English  better." 
The  Senecas,  in  collusion  with  several  Huron  chiefs, 
had  captured  a  considerable  number  of  that  tribe 
and  of  the  Ottawas.  The  scheme  was  that  these 
prisoners  should  be  released,  on  condition  that  the 
lake  tribes  should  join  the  Senecas  and  repudiate 
their  alliance  with  the  French.1  The  governor  of 
New  York  favored  this  intrigue  to  the  utmost. 

Denonville  was  quick  to  see  that  the  peril  of  the 
colony  rose,  not  from  the  Iroquois  alone,  but  from 
the  English  of  New  York,  who  prompted  them. 

1  Denonville  au  Mlnistre,  12  Juin,  1686. 


1685-86.]  NATIONAL  RIVALRY.  119 

Dongan  understood  the  situation.  He  saw  that 
the  French  aimed  at  mastering  the  whole  interior 
of  the  continent.  They  had  established  themselves 
in  the  valley  of  the  Illinois,  had  built  a  fort  on  the 
lower  Mississippi,  and  were  striving  to  entrench 
themselves  at  its  mouth.  They  occupied  the  Great 
Lakes ;  and  it  was  already  evident  that,  as  soon  as 
their  resources  should  permit,  they  would  seize  the 
avenues  of  communication  throughout  the  west.  In 
short,  the  grand  scheme  of  French  colonization  had 
begun  to  declare  itself.  Dongan  entered  the  lists 
against  them.  If  his  policy  should  prevail,  New 
France  would  dwindle  to  a  feeble  province  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  :  if  the  French  policy  should  prevail, 
the  English  colonies  would  remain  a  narrow  strip 
along  the  sea.  Dongan' s  cause  was  that  of  all 
these  colonies ;  but  they  all  stood  aloof,  and  left 
him  to  wage  the  strife  alone.  Canada  was  matched 
against  New  York,  or  rather  against  the  gover- 
nor of  New  York.  The  population  of  the  English 
colony  was  larger  than  that  of  its  rival ;  but,  ex- 
cept the  fur  traders,  few  of  the  settlers  cared  much 
for  the  questions  at  issue.1  Dongan' s  chief  diffi- 
culty, however,  rose  from  the  relations  of  the  French 
and  English  kings.  Louis  XIY.  gave  Denonville 
an  unhesitating  support.  James  II.,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  for  a  time  cautious  to  timidity.  The 
two  monarchs  were  closely  united.  Both  hated 
constitutional  liberty,  and  both  held  the  same 
principles  of  supremacy  in  church  and  state ;  but 

1  New  York  had  about  18,000  inhabitants  (Brodhead,  Hist.  N.  Y.,  II. 
458).     Canada,  by  the  census  of  1685,  had  12,263. 


120         DEXOXVILLE  AND  DOXGAN.       [1685-86. 

Louis  was  triumphant  and  powerful,  while  James, 
in  conflict  with  his  subjects,  was  in  constant  need 
of  his  great  ally,  and  dared  not  offend  him. 

The  royal  instructions  to  Denonville  enjoined 
him  to  humble  the  Iroquois,  sustain  the  allies  of 
the  colony,  oppose  the  schemes  of  Dongan,  and 
treat  him  as  an  enemy,  if  he  encroached  on  French 
territory.  At  the  same  time,  the  French  ambassa- 
dor at  the  English  court  was  directed  to  demand 
from  James  II.  precise  orders  to  the  governor  of 
New  York  for  a  complete  change  of  conduct  in 
regard  to  Canada  and  the  Iroquois.1  But  Dongan, 
like  the  French  governors,  was  not  easily  con- 
trolled. In  the  absence  of  money  and  troops,  he 
intrigued  busily  with  his  Indian  neighbors.  "  The 
artifices  of  the  English,"  wrote  Denonville,  "  have 
reached  such  a  point  that  it  would  be  better  if  they 
•attacked  us  openly  and  burned  our  settlements, 
instead  of  instigating  the  Iroquois  against  us  for 
our  destruction.  I  know  beyond  a  particle  of 
doubt  that  M.  Dongan  caused  all  the  five  Iroquois 
nations  to  be  assembled  last  spring  at  Orange 
(Albany),  in  order  to  excite  them  against  us,  by 
telling  them  publicly  that  I  meant  to  declare  war 
against  them."  He  says,  further,  that  Dongan 
supplies  them  with  arms  and  ammunition,  incites 
them  to  attack  the  colony,  and  urges  them  to  de- 
liver Lamberville,  the  priest  at  Onondaga,  into  his 
hands.  "  He  has  sent  people,  at  the  same  time, 
to  our  Montreal  Indians  to  entice  them  over  to 

1  Seignelay  to  Barillon,  French  Ambassador  at  London,  in  N.  Y.  Col. 
Docs.,  IX.  269. 


1685-86.]  INTRIGUES   OF  DENONVILLE.  121 

him,  promising  them  missionaries  to  instruct 
them,  and  assuring  them  that  he  would  prevent 
the  introduction  of  brandy  into  their  villages.  All 
these  intrigues  have  given  me  not  a  little  trouble 
throughout  the  summer.  M.  Dongan  has  written 
to  me,  and  I  have  answered  him  as  a  man  may 
do  who  wishes  to  dissimulate  and  does  not  feel 
strong  enough  to  get  angry."  ] 

Denonville,  accordingly,  while  biding  his  time, 
made  use  of  counter  intrigues,  and,  by  means  of 
the  useful  Lamberville,  freely  distributed  secret 
or  "  underground  "  presents  among  the  Iroquois 
chiefs ;  while  the  Jesuit  Engelran  was  busy  at 
Michillimackinac  in  adroit  and  vigorous  efforts  to 
prevent  the  alienation  of  the  Hurons,  Ottawas,  and 
other  lake  tribes.  The  task  was  difficult;  and, 
filled  with  anxiety,  the  father  came  clown  to  Mon- 
treal to  see  the  governor,  "  and  communicate  to 
me,"  writes  Denonville,  "  the  de23lorable  state  of 
affairs  with  our  allies,  whom  we  can  no  longer 
trust,  owing  to  the  discredit  into  which  we  have 
fallen  among  them,  and  from  which  we  cannot 
recover,  except  by  gaining  some  considerable 
advantage  over  the  Iroquois ;  who,  as  I  have  had 
the  honor  to  inform  you,  have  labored  incessantly 
since  last  autumn  to  rob  us  of  all  our  allies,  by 
using  every  means  to  make  treaties  with  them 
independently  of  us.  You  may  be  assured,  Mon- 
seigneur,  that  the  English  are  the  chief  cause  of 
the  arrogance  and  insolence  of  the  Iroquois,  adroitly 
using  them  to  extend  the  limits  of  their  dominion, 

1  Denonville  a  Seignelaij,  8  Nov.,  1686. 


122  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.       [1685-86. 

and  uniting  with  them  as  one  nation,  insomuch 
that  the  English  claims  include  no  less  than  the 
Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  the  region  of  Saginaw 
{Michigan),  the  country  of  the  Hurons,  and  all  the 
country  in  the  direction  of  the  Mississippi."  l 

The  most  pressing  danger  was  the  defection  of 
the  lake  tribes.  "  In  spite  of  the  king's  edicts," 
pursues  Denonville,  "  the  conreiirs  de  bois  have 
carried  a  hundred  barrels  of  brandy  to  Michilli- 
mackinac  in  a  single  year;  and  their  libertinism 
and  debauchery  have  gone  to  such  an  extremity 
that  it  is  a  wonder  the  Indians  have  not  mas- 
sacred them  all  to  save  themselves  from  their 
violence  and  recover  their  wives  and  daughters 
from  them.  This,  Monseigneur,  joined  to  our 
failure  in  the  last  war,  has  drawn  upon  us  such 
contempt  among  all  the  tribes  that  there  is  but  one 
way  to  regain  our  credit,  which  is  to  humble  the 
Iroquois  by  our  unaided  strength,  without  asking 
the  help  of  our  Indian  allies."2  And  he  begs 
hard  for  a  strong  reinforcement  of  troops. 

Without  doubt,  Denonville  was  right  in  think- 
ing that  the  chastising  of  the  Iroquois,  or  at  least 
the  Senecas,  the  head  and  front  of  mischief,  was 
a  matter  of  the  last  necessity.  A  crushing  blow 
dealt  against  them  would  restore  French  prestige, 
paralyze  English  intrigue,  save  the  Illinois  from 
destruction,  and  confirm  the  wavering  allies  of 
Canada.  Meanwhile,  matters  grew  from  bad  to 
worse.     In  the  north  and  in  the  west,  there  was 

1  Denonville  a  Seignelay,  12  Juin,  168G. 

2  Ibid. 


1685-86.]  DIPLOMATIC  DUEL.  123 

scarcely  a  tribe  in  the  French  interest  which  was 
not  either  attacked  by  the  Senecas  or  cajoled  by 
them  into  alliances  hostile  to  the  colony.  "  We 
may  set  down  Canada  as  lost/'  again  writes  De- 
nonville, "  if  we  do  not  make  war  next  year  ;  and 
yet,  in  our  present  disordered  state,  war  is  the 
most  dangerous  thing  in  the  world.  Nothing  can 
save  us  but  the  sending  out  of  troops  and  the 
building  of  forts  and  blockhouses.  Yet  I  dare  not 
begin  to  build  them  ;  for,  if  I  do,  it  will  bring 
down  all  the  Iroquois  upon  us  before  we  are  in  a 
condition  to  fight  them." 

Nevertheless,  he  made  what  preparations  he 
could,  begging  all  the  while  for  more  soldiers, 
and  carrying  on  at  the  same  time  a  correspond- 
ence with  his  rival,  Dongan.  At  first,  it  was 
courteous  on  both  sides ;  but  it  soon  grew  pungent, 
and  at  last  acrid.  Denonville  wrote  to  announce 
his  arrival,  and  Dongan  replied  in  French :  "  Sir, 
I  have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter,  and 
greatly  rejoice  at  having  so  good  a  neighbor,  whose 
reputation  is  so  widely  spread  that  it  has  antici- 
pated your  arrival.  I  have  a  very  high  respect 
for  the  king  of  France,  of  whose  bread  I  have 
eaten  so  much  that  I  feel  under  an  obligation  to 
prevent  whatever  can  give  the  least  umbrage  to 
our  masters.  M.  de  la  Barre  is  a  very  worthy 
gentleman,  but  he  has  not  written  to  me  in  a  civil 
and  befitting  style."  1 

Denonville  replied  with  many  compliments  :  "  I 
know  not  what  reason  you  may  have  had  to  be 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  13  Oct.,  1685,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  292. 


124  DEXOXVILLE  AND  DOXGAN.       [1685-86. 

dissatisfied  with  M.  cle  la  Barre ;  but  I  know  very 
well  that  I  should  reproach  myself  all  my  life  if  I 
could  fail  to  render  to  you  all  the  civility  and 
attention  due  to  a  person  of  so  great  rank  and 
merit.  In  regard  to  the  affair  in  which  M.  de  la 
Barre  interfered,  as  you  write  me,  I  presume  you 
refer  to  his  quarrel  with  the  Senecas.  As  to  that, 
Monsieur,  I  believe  you  understand  the  character 
of  that  nation  well  enough  to  perceive  that  it  is 
not  easy  to  live  in  friendship  with  a  people  who 
have  neither  religion,  nor  honor,  nor  subordina- 
tion. The  king,  my  master,  entertains  affection 
and  friendship  for  this  country  solely  through  zeal 
for  the  establishment  of  religion  here,  and  the  sup- 
port and  protection  of  the  missionaries  whose  ardor 
in  preaching  the  faith  leads  them  to  expose  them- 
selves to  the  brutalities  and  persecutions  of  the 
most  ferocious  of  tribes.  You  know  better  than  I 
what  fatigues  and  torments  they  have  suffered  for 
the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  know  your  heart  is 
penetrated  with  the  glory  of  that  name  which 
makes  Hell  tremble,  and  at  the  mention  of  which 
all  the  powers  of  Heaven  fall  prostrate.  Shall  we 
be  so  unhappy  as  to  refuse  them  our  master's  pro- 
tection ?  You  are  a  man  of  rank  and  abounding 
in  merit.  You  love  our  holy  religion.  Can  we 
not  then  come  to  an  understanding  to  sustain  our 
missionaries  by  keeping  those  fierce  tribes  in  re- 
spect and  fear  ?  "  * 

This   specious   appeal   for   maintaining   French 
Jesuits  on  English  territory,  or  what  was  claimed 

1  DenonviUe  to  Dongan,  5  Juin,  1686,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  456. 


16&C]  DIPLOMATIC  DUEL.  125 

as  such,  was  lost  on  Dongan,  Catholic  as  he  w&s. 
He  regarded  them  as  dangerous  political  enemies, 
and  did  his  best  to  expel  them,  and  put  English 
priests  in  their  place.  Another  of  his  plans  was 
to  build  a  fort  at  Niagara,  to  exclude  the  French 
from  Lake  Erie.  Denonville  entertained  the  same 
purpose,  in  order  to  exclude  the  English ;  and  he 
watched  eagerly  the  moment  to  execute  it.  A 
rumor  of  the  scheme  was  brought  to  Dongan  by 
one  of  the  French  coureurs  de  bois,  who  often 
deserted  to  Albany,  where  they  were  welcomed 
and  encouraged.  The  English  governor  was  ex- 
ceedingly wroth.  He  had  written  before  in  French 
out  of  complaisance.  He  now  dispensed  with 
ceremony,  and  wrote  in  his  own  peculiar  English : 
"  I  am  informed  that  you  intend  to  build  a  fort  at 
Ohniagero  {Niagara)  on  this  side  of  the  lake, 
within  my  Master's  territory es  without  question. 
I  cannot  beleev  that  a  person  that  has  your 
reputation  in  the  world  would  follow  the  steps  of 
Monsr.  Labarr,  and  be  ill  advized  by  some  inter- 
ested persons  in  your  Governt.  to  make  disturbance 
between  our  Masters  subjects  in  those  parts  of  the 
world  for  a  little  pelttree  {peltry).  I  hear  one  of 
the  Fathers  {the  Jesuit  Jean  de  LamherviUe)  is 
gone  to  you,  and  th'other  that  stayed  {Jacques  de 
Lamberville)  I  have  sent  for  him  here  lest  the  In- 
dians should  insult  over  him,  tho'  it's  a  thousand 
pittys  that  those  that  have  made  such  progress  in 
the  service  of  God  should  be  disturbed,  and  that 
by  the  fault  of  those  that  laid  the  foundation 
of  Christianity  amongst  these  barbarous  people  ; 


126  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.  [1686. 

setting  apart  the  station  I  am  in,  I  am  as  much 
Monsr.  Des  Novilles  {Denonville s)  humble  servant 
as  any  friend  he  has,  and  will  ommit  no  oppor- 
tunity of  manifesting  the  same.  Sir,  your  humble 
servant,  Thomas  Dongan."  ' 

Denonville  in  reply  denied  that  he  meant  to 
build  a  fort  at  Niagara,  and  warned  Dongan  not  to 
believe  the  stories  told  him  by  French  deserters. 
"  In  order,"  he  wrote,  "  that  we  may  live  on  a 
good  understanding,  it  would  be  well  that  a  gentle- 
man of  your  character  should  not  give  protection 
to  all  the  rogues,  vagabonds,  and  thieves  who 
desert  us  and  seek  refuge  with  you,  and  who,  to 
gain  your  favor,  think  they  cannot  do  better  than 
tell  nonsensical  stories  about  us,  which  they  will 
continue  to  do  so  long  as  you  listen  to  them."  2 

The  rest  of  the  letter  was  in  terms  of  civility,  to 
which  Dongan  returned  :  "  Beleive  me  it  is  much 
joy  to  have  soe  good  a  neighbour  of  soe  excellent 
qualifications  and  temper,  and  of  a  humour  alto- 
gether differing  from  Monsieur  de  la  Barre,  your 
predecessor,  who  was  so  furious  and  hasty  and 
very  much  addicted  to  great  words,  as  if  I  had  bin 
to  have  bin  frighted  by  them.  For  my  part,  I  shall 
take  all  immaginable  care  that  the  Fathers  who 
preach  the  Holy  Gospell  to  those  Indians  over 
whom  I  have  power  bee  not  in  the  least  ill  treated, 
and  upon  that  very  accompt  have  sent  for  one  of 
each  nation  to  come  to  me,  and  then  those  beastly 
crimes  you   reproove   shall  be   checked    severely, 

i  Dongan  to  Denonville,  22  May,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  455. 
2  Denonville  a  Dongan,  20  Juin,  1686. 


1686-1  DIPLOMATIC  DUEL.  127 

and  all  my  endevours  used  to  surpress  their  filthy 
clrunkennesse,  disorders,  debauches,  warring,  and 
quarrels,  and  whatsoever  doth  obstruct  the  growth 
and  enlargement  of  the  Christian  faith  amongst 
those  people."  He  then,  in  reply  to  an  application 
of  Denonville,  promised  to  give  up  "  runa waves."  ! 
Promise  was  not  followed  by  performance  ;  and 
he  still  favored  to  the  utmost  the  truant  French- 
men who  made  Albany  their  resort,  and  often 
brought  with  them  most  valuable  information. 
This  drew  an  angry  letter  from  Denonville.  "  You 
were  so  good,  Monsieur,  as  to  tell  me  that  you 
would  give  up  all  the  deserters  who  have  fled  to 
you  to  escape  chastisement  for  their  knavery.  As 
most  of  them  are  bankrupts  and  thieves,  I  hope 
that  they  will  give  you  reason  to  repent  having 
harbored  them,  and  that  your  merchants  who  em- 
ploy them  will  be  punished  for  trusting  such 
rascals."  2  To  the  great  wrath  of  the  French  gov- 
ernor, Dongan  persisted  in  warning  the  Iroquois 
that  he  meant  to  attack  them.  u  You  proposed, 
Monsieur,"  writes  Denonville,  "  to  submit  every 
thing  to  the  decision  of  our  masters.  Neverthe- 
less, your  emissary  to  the  Ononclagas  told  all  the 
Five  Nations  in  your  name  to  pillage  and  make 
war  on  us."  Next,  he  berates  his  rival  for  furnish- 
ing the  Indians  with  rum.  "  Think  you  that 
religion  will  make  any  progress,  while  your  traders 
supply  the  savages  in  abundance  with  the  liquor 
which,  as  you  ought  to  know,  converts  them  into 
demons  and  their  lodges  into  counterparts  of  Hell  ?  " 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  26  July,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  460. 

2  Denonville  a  Dongan,  1  Oct.,  1686. 


128  DENONVILLE   AND  DONG  AN.  [1686. 

"  Certainly/'  retorts  Dongan,  "  our  Rum  doth  as 
little  hurt  as  jour  Brandy,  and,  in  the  opinion  of 
Christians,  is  much  more  wholesome."  * 

Each  tried  incessantly  to  out-general  the  other. 
Denonville,  steadfast  in  his  plan  of  controlling  the 
passes  of  the  western  country,  had  projected  forts, 
not  only  at  Niagara,  but  also  at  Toronto,  on  Lake 
Erie,  and  on  the  Strait  of  Detroit.  He  thought 
that  a  time  had  come  when  he  could,  without  rash- 
ness, secure  this  last  important  passage ;  and  he 
sent  an  order  to  Du  Lhut,  who  was  then  at  Michil- 
limackinac,  to  occupy  it  with  fifty  coureurs  de 
bois.2  That  enterprising  chief  accordingly  re- 
paired  to  Detroit,  and  built  a  stockade  at  the  outlet 
of  Lake  Huron  on  the  western  side  of  the  strait. 
It  was  not  a  moment  too  soon.  The  year  before, 
Dongan  had  sent  a  party  of  armed  traders  in  eleven 
canoes,  commanded  by  Johannes  Rooseboom,  a 
Dutchman  of  Albany,  to  carry  English  goods  to 
the  upper  lakes.  They  traded  successfully,  win- 
ning golden  opinions  from  the  Indians,  who  begged 
them  to  come  every  year  ;  and,  though  Denonville 
sent  an  officer  to  stop  them  at  Niagara,  they  re- 
turned in  triumph,  after  an  absence  of  three  months.3 
A  larger  expedition  was  organized  in  the  autumn  of 
1686.  Rooseboom  again  set  out  for  the  lakes  with 
twenty  or  more  canoes.  He  wTas  to  winter  among 
the  Senecas,  and  wait  the  arrival  of  Major  Mc- 
Gregory,  a  Scotch  officer,  who  was  to  leave  Albany 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  1  Dec,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  462. 

2  Denonville  a  Du  Lhut,  6  Juin,  1686. 

3  Brodhead,  Hist,  of  New  York,  II.  429;  Denonville  au  Ministre,  8  Mat, 
1686. 


1686.]  DIPLOMATIC  DUEL.  129 

in  the  spring  with  fifty  men,  take  command  of  the 
united  parties,  and  advance  to  Lake  Huron,  ac- 
companied by  a  band  of  Iroquois,  to  form  a  general 
treaty  of  trade  and  alliance  with  the  tribes  claimed 
by  France  as  her  subjects.1 

Denonville  was  beside  himself  at  the  news.  He 
had  already  urged  upon  Louis  XIV.  the  policy  of 
buying  the  colony  of  New  York,  which  he  thought 
might  easily  be  done,  and  which,  as  he  said,  "  would 
make  us  masters  of  the  Iroquois  without  a  war." 
This  time  he  wrote  in  a  less  pacific  mood  :  "  I 
have  a  mind  to  go  straight  to  Albany,  storm  their 
fort,  and  burn  every  thing."  2  And  he  begged  for 
soldiers  more  earnestly  than  ever.  "  Things  grow 
worse  and  worse.  The  English  stir  up  the  Iro- 
quois against  us,  and  send  parties  to  Michilli- 
maekinac  to  rob  us  of  our  trade.  It  would  be 
better  to  declare  war  against  them  than  to  perish 
by  their  intrigues."  3 

He  complained  bitterly  to  Dongan,  and  Dongan 
replied  :  "  I  beleeve  it  is  as  lawf ull  for  the  English 
as  the  French  to  trade  amongst  the  remotest  In- 
dians. I  desire  you  to  send  me  word  who  it  was 
that  pretended  to  have  my  orders  for  the  Indians 
to  plunder  and  fight  you.  That  is  as  false  as  'tis 
true  that  God  is  in  heaven.  I  have  desired  you 
to  send  for  the  deserters.  I  know  not  who  they 
are  but  had  rather  such  Eascalls  and  Bankrouts, 


1  Brodhead,  Hist,  of  New  York,  II.  443  ;   Commission  of  Me  Gregory,  in 
N.  Y.  Col.  Does.,  IX.  318. 

2  Denonville  an  Ministre,  16  Nov.,  1686. 

3  Ibid.,  15  Oct.,  1686. 

9 


130  DEXOXVILLE   AND   DOXGAX.   "  [1687. 

as  you  call  them,  were  amongst  their  own  country- 
men." 1 

He  had,  nevertheless,  turned  them  to  good 
account ;  for,  as  the  English  knew  nothing  of 
western  geography,  they  employed  these  French 
bush-rangers  to  guide  their  trading  parties.  De- 
nonville  sent  orders  to  Du  Lhut  to  shoot  as  many 
of  them  as  he  could  catch. 

Dongan  presently  received  despatches  from  the 
English  court,  which  showed  him  the  necessity 
of  caution  ;  and,  when  next  he  wrote  to  his  rival, 
it  was  with  a  chastened  pen :  "  I  hope  your  Ex- 
cellency will  be  so  kincle  as  not  desire  or  seeke  any 
correspondence  with  our  Indians  of  this  side  of 
the  Great  lake  (Ontario):  if  they  doe  amisse  to 
any  of  your  Governmt.  and  vou  make  it  known 
to  me,  you  shall  have  all  justice  done."  He  com- 
plained mildly  that  the  Jesuits  were  luring  their 
Iroquois  converts  to  Canada ;  "  and  you  must 
pardon  me  if  I  tell  you  that  is  not  the  right  way 
to  keepe  fair  correspondence.  I  am  daily  expect- 
ing Religious  men  from  England,  which  I  intend 
to  put  amongst  those  five  nations.  I  desire  you 
would  order  Monsr.  cle  Lamberville  that  soe  Ions; 
as  he  stayes  amongst  those  people  he  would  meddle 
only  with  the  affairs  belonging  to  his  function. 
Sir,  I  send  you  some  Oranges,  hearing  that  they 
are  a  rarity  in  your  partes."  2 

"Monsieur,"  replies  Denonville,  "I  thank  you 

»  Dongan  to  Denonville,  1  Dec,  1686  ;  Ibid.,  20  June,  1687,  in  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  III.  462,  465. 

2  Dongan  to  Denonville,  20  Juin,  1687,  in  .V.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  465. 


1687.]  DENONVILLE   EMBOLDENED.  131 

for  your  oranges.     It  is  a  great  pity  that  they 
were  all   rotten." 

The  French  governor,  unlike  his  rival,  felt  strong 
in  the  support  of  his  king,  who  had  responded 
amply  to  his  appeals  for  aid  ;  and  the  temper  of 
his  letters  answered  to  his  improved  position.  "  I 
was  led,  Monsieur,  to  believe,  by  your  civil  lan- 
guage in  the  letter  you  took  the  trouble  to  write 
me  on  my  arrival,  that  we  should  live  in  the 
greatest  harmony  in  the  world  ;  but  the  result  has 
plainly  shown  that  your  intentions  did  not  at  all 
answer  to  your  fine  words."  And  he  upbraids 
him  without  measure  for  his  various  misdeeds : 
"  Take  my  word  for  it.  Let  us  devote  ourselves 
to  the  accomplishment  of  our  masters'  will ;  let  us 
seek,  as  they  do,  to  serve  and  promote  religion ; 
let  us  live  together  in  harmony,  as  they  desire.  I 
repeat  and  protest,  Monsieur,  that  it  rests  with  you 
alone ;  but  do  not  imagine  that  I  am  a  man  to 
suffer  others  to  play  tricks  on  me.  I  willingly 
believe  that  you  have  not  ordered  the  Iroquois  to 
plunder  our  Frenchmen  ;  but,  whilst  I  have  the 
honor  to  write  to  you,  you  know  that  Salvaye, 
Gedeon  Petit,  and  many  other  rogues  and  bank- 
rupts like  them,  are  with  you,  and  boast  of  sharing 
your  table.  I  should  not  be  surprised  that  you 
tolerate  them  in  your  country ;  but  I  am  astonished 
that  you  should  promise  me  not  to  tolerate  them, 
that  you  so  promise  me  again,  and  that  you  per- 
form nothing  of  what  you  promise.  Trust  me, 
Monsieur,  make  no  promise  that  you  are  not  will- 
ing to  keep."  l 

1  Denonville  a  Dongan,  21  Aug.,  1G87;  Ibid.,  no  date  (1687). 


132  DENONVILLE   AND  DONG  AN.  [1686. 

Denonville,  vexed  and  perturbed  by  his  long 
strife  with  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois,  presently 
found  a  moment  of  comfort  in  tidings  that  reached 
him  from  the  north.  Here,  as  in  the  west,  there 
was  violent  rivalry  between  the  subjects  of  the 
two  crowns.  With  the  help  of  two  French  rene- 
gades, named  Radisson  and  Groseilliers,  the  English 
Company  of  Hudson's  Bay,  then  in  its  infancy,  had 
established  a  post  near  the  mouth  of  Nelson  River, 
on  the  western  shore  of  that  dreary  inland  sea. 
The  company  had  also  three  other  posts,  called 
Fort  Albany,  Fort  Hayes,  and  Fort  Rupert,  at 
the  southern  end  of  the  bay.  A  rival  French 
company  had  been  formed  in  Canada,  under  the 
name  of  the  Company  of  the  North  ;  and  it  re- 
solved on  an  effort  to  expel  its  English  competitors. 
Though  it  was  a  time  of  profound  peace  between 
the  two  kings,  Denonville  warmly  espoused  the 
plan  ;  and,  in  the  early  spring  of  1686,  he  sent 
the  Chevalier  cle  Troyes  from  Montreal,  with  eighty 
or  more  Canadians,  to  execute  it.1  With  Troyes 
went  Iberville,  Sainte-Helene,  and  Maricourt, 
three  of  the  sons  of  Charles  Le  Moyne ;  and  the 
Jesuit  Silvy  joined  the  party  as  chaplain. 

They  ascended  the  Ottawa,  and  thence,  from 
stream  to  stream  and  lake  to  lake,  toiled  painfully 
towards  their  goal.     At  length,  they  neared  Fort 

1  The  Compagnie  du  Nord  had  a  grant  of  the  trade  of  Hudson's  Bay 
from  Louis  XIV.  The  hay  was  discovered  by  the  English,  under  Hud- 
son ;  but  the  French  had  carried  on  some  trade  there  before  the  establish- 
ment of  Fort  Nelson.  Denonville's  commission  to  Troyes  merely  directs 
him  to  build  forts,  and  "  se  saisir  des  voleurs  coureurs  de  bois  et  autres 
que  nous  savons  avoir  pris  et  arrete  plusieurs  de  nos  Francois  commer- 
cants  avec  les  sauvages." 


1686.]  STRIFE  IN  THE  NORTH.  133 

Hayes.  It  was  a  stockade  with  four  bastions, 
mounted  with  cannon.  There  was  a  strong  block- 
house within,  in  which  the  sixteen  occupants  of 
the  place  were  lodged,  unsuspicious  of  clanger. 
Troyes  approached  at  night.  Iberville  and  Sainte- 
Helene  with  a  few  followers  climbed  the  palisade 
on  one  side,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  burst  the 
main  gate  with  a  sort  of  battering  ram,  and  rushed 
in,  yelling  the  war-whoop.  In  a  moment,  the  door 
of  the  blockhouse  wTas  dashed  open,  and  its  as- 
tonished inmates  captured  in  their  shirts. 

The  victors  now  embarked  for  Fort  Rupert,  dis- 
tant forty  leagues  along  the  shore.  In  construc- 
tion, it  resembled  Fort  Hayes.  The  fifteen  traders 
who  held  the  place  were  all  asleep  at  night  in  their 
blockhouse,  when  the  Canadians  burst  the  gate  of 
the  stockade  and  swarmed  into  the  area.  One  of 
them  mounted  by  a  ladder  to  the  roof  of  the  build- 
ing, and  dropped  lighted  hand-grenades  down  the 
chimney,  which,  exploding  among  the  occupants, 
told  them  unmistakably  that  something  was  wrong. 
At  the  same  time,  the  assailants  fired  briskly  on 
them  through  the  loopholes,  and,  placing  a  petard 
under  the  walls,  threatened  to  blow  them  into 
the  air.  Five,  including  a  woman,  wTere  killed  or 
wounded ;  and  the  rest  cried  for  quarter.  Mean- 
while,  Iberville  with  another  party  attacked  a 
vessel  anchored  near  the  fort,  and,  climbing  silently 
over  her  side,  found  the  man  on  the  watch  asleep 
in  his  blanket.  He  sprang  up  and  made  fight,  but 
they  killed  him,  then  stamped  on  the  deck  to  rouse 
those  below,  sabred  two  of  them  as  they  came  up 


134  DENONVILLE  AND  DONG  AN.  [1686. 

the  hatchway,  and  captured  the  rest.  Among  them 
was  Bridger,  governor  for  the  company  of  all  its 
stations  on  the  bay. 

They  next  turned  their  attention  to  Fort  Albany, 
thirty  leagues  from  Fort  Hayes,  in  a  direction  op- 
posite to  that  of  Fort  Eupert.  Here  there  were 
about  thirty  men,  under  Henry  Sargent,  an  agent  of 
the  company.  Surprise  was  this  time  impossible  ; 
for  news  of  their  proceedings  had  gone  before  them, 
and  Sargent,  though  no  soldier,  stood  on  his  de- 
fence. The  Canadians  arrived,  some  in  canoes, 
some  in  the  captured  vessel,  bringing  ten  captured 
pieces  of  cannon,  which  they  planted  in  battery 
on  a  neighboring  hill,  well  covered  by  intrench- 
ments  from  the  English  shot.  Here  they  presently 
opened  fire  ;  and,  in  an  hour,  the  stockade  with 
the  houses  that  it  enclosed  was  completely  rid- 
dled. The  English  took  shelter  in  a  cellar,  nor 
was  it  till  the  fire  slackened  that  they  ventured  out 
to  show  a  white  flag  and  ask  for  a  parley.  Troyes 
and  Sargent  had  an  interview.  The  Englishman 
regaled  his  conqueror  with  a  bottle  of  Spanish 
wrine  ;  and,  after  drinking  the  health  of  King  Louis 
and  King  James,  they  settled  the  terms  of  capitula- 
tion. The  prisoners  were  sent  home  in  an  English 
vessel  which  soon  after  arrived ;  and  Maricourt 
remained  to  command  at  the  bay,  while  Troyes 
returned  to  report  his  success  to  Denonville.1 

1  On  the  capture  of  the  forts  at  Hudson's  Bay,  see  La  Potherie,  I.  147— 
163;  the  letter  of  Father  Silvy,  chaplain  of  the  expedition,  in  Saint- Val- 
lier,  Efat  Present,  43  ;  and  Oldmixon,  British  Empire  in  America,  I.  561-564. 
(ed.  1741).  An  account  of  the  preceding  events  will  be  found  in  La 
Potherie  and  Oldmixon  ;  in  Jeremie,  Relation  de  la  Baie  de  Hudson ;  and  in 


1686.]  THE   FRENCH   AT   HUDSON'S  BAY.  135 

This  buccaneer  exploit  exasperated  the  English 
public,  and  it  became  doubly  apparent  that  the 
state  of  affairs  in  America  could  not  be  allowed  to 
continue.  A  conference  had  been  arranged  be- 
tween the  two  powers,  even  before  the  news  came 
from  Hudson's  Bay ;  and  Count  d'Avaux  appeared 
at  London  as  special  envoy  of  Louis  XIV.  to  settle 
the  questions  at  issue.  A  treaty  of  neutrality  was 
signed  at  Whitehall,  and  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed on  both  sides.1  Pending  the  discussion, 
each  party  was  to  refrain  from  acts  of  hostility  or 
encroachment ;  and,  said  the  declaration  of  the 
commissioners,  "  to  the  end  the  said  agreement 
may  have  the  better  effect,  we  do  likewise  agree 
that  the  said  serene  kings  shall  immediately  send 
necessary  orders  in  that  behalf  to  their  respective 
governors  in  America."  2  Dongan  accordingly  was 
directed  to  keep  a  friendly  correspondence  with  his 
rival,  and  take  good  care  to  give  him  no  cause  of 
complaint.3 

It  was  this  missive  which  had  dashed  the  ardor 
of  the  English  governor,  and  softened  his  epistolary 
style.  More  than  four  months  after,  Louis  XIV. 
sent  corresponding  instructions  to  Denonville ; 4  but, 

N.  Y.  Col.  Dors.,  IX.  796-802.  Various  embellishments  have  been  added 
to  the  original  narratives  by  recent  writers,  such  as  an  imaginary  hand-to- 
hand  fight  of  Iberville  and  several  Englishmen  in  the  blockhouse  of  Eort 
Hayes. 

1  Traitede  Neutrality  pour  VAme'rique,  conclu  a  Londres  le  10  Nov.,  1686, 
in  Memoires  des  Commissaires,  II.  86. 

2  Instrument  for  preventing  Acts  of  Hostility  in  America  in  N.  Y.  Col. 
Docs.,  III.  505. 

3  Order  to  Gov.  Dongan,  22  Jan.,  1687,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  504. 

4  Louis  XIV.  a  Denonville,  17  Juin,  1687.  At  the  end  of  March,  the 
king  had  written  that  "  he  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  make  any  at- 
tack on  the  English." 


13  G  DENONVILLE   AND   DONG  AN.  [1687. 

meantime,  he  had  sent  him  troops,  money,  and 
munitions  in  abundance,  and  ordered  him  to  attack 
the  Iroquois  towns.  Whether  such  a  step  was  con- 
sistent with  the  recent  treaty  of  neutrality  may 
well  be  doubted  ;  for,  though  James  II.  had  not  yet 
formally  claimed  the  Iroquois  as  British  subjects, 
his  representative  had  done  so  for  years  with  his 
tacit  approval,  and  out  of  this  claim  had  risen  the 
principal  differences  which  it  was  the  object  of  the 
treaty  to  settle. 

Eight  hundred  regulars  were  already  in  the 
colony,  and  eight  hundred  more  were  sent  in  the 
spring,  with  a  hundred  and  sixty-eight  thousand 
livres  in  money  and  supplies.1  Denonville  was 
prepared  to  strike.  He  had  pushed  his  prepara- 
tions actively,  yet  with  extreme  secrecy  ;  for  he 
meant  to  fall  on  the  Senecas  unawares,  and  shatter 
at  a  blow  the  mainspring  of  English  intrigue. 
Harmony  reigned  among  the  chiefs  of  the  colony, 
military,  civil,  and  religious.  The  intendant  Meules 
had  been  recalled  on  the  complaints  of  the  governor, 
who  had  quarrelled  with  him ;  and  a  new  intendant, 
Champigny,  had  been  sent  in  his  place.  He  was 
as  pious  as  Denonville  himself,  and,  like  him,  was 
in  perfect  accord  with  the  bishop  and  the  Jesuits. 
All  wrought  together  to  promote  the  new  crusade. 

It  was  not  yet  time  to  preach  it,  or  at  least 
Denonville  thought  so.  He  dissembled  his  pur- 
pose to  the  last  moment,  even  with  his  best  friends. 
Of  all  the  Jesuits   among  the  Iroquois,   the   two 

1  Abstract  of  Letters,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  314.  This  answers  ex- 
actly to  the  statement  of  the  Memoire  adresst  au  Regent,  which  places  the 
nnmber  of  troops  in  Canada  at  this  time  at  thirty-two  companies  of  fifty 
men  each. 


J 687.]  PERIL   OF  L AMBER VILLE.  137 

brothers  Lamberville  had  alone  held  their  post. 
Denonville,  in  order  to  deceive  the  enemy,  had 
directed  these  priests  to  urge  the  Iroquois  chiefs 
to  meet  him  in  council  at  Fort  Frontenac,  whither, 
as  he  pretended,  he  was  about  to  go  with  an  escort 
of  troops,  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  them. 
The  two  brothers  received  no  hint  whatever  of  his 
real  intention,  and  tried  in  good  faith  to  accomplish 
his  wishes  ;  but  the  Iroquois  were  distrustful,  and 
hesitated  to  comply.  On  this,  the  elder  Lamber- 
ville sent  the  younger  with  letters  to  Denonville 
to  explain  the  position  of  affairs,  saying  at  the 
same  time  that  he  himself  would  not  leave  Onon- 
daga except  to  accompany  the  chiefs  to  the  pro- 
posed council.  "  The  poor  father,"  wrote  the 
governor,  "  knows  nothing  of  our  designs.  I  am 
sorry  to  see  him  exposed  to  danger ;  but,  should  I 
recall  him,  his  withdrawal  would  certainly  betray 
our  plans  to  the  Iroquois."  This  unpardonable 
reticence  placed  the  Jesuit  in  extreme  peril ;  for 
the  moment  the  Iroquois  discovered  the  intended 
treachery  they  would  probably  burn  him  as  its 
instrument.  No  man  in  Canada  had  done  so  much 
as  the  elder  Lamberville  to  counteract  the  influence 
of  England  and  serve  the  interests  of  France,  and 
in  return  the  governor  exposed  him  recklessly  to 
the  most  terrible  of  deaths.1 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  9  Nov.,  1686 ;  Ibid.,  8  Juin,  1687.  Denon- 
ville at  last  seems  to  have  been  seized  with  some  compunction,  and 
writes  :  "  Tout  cela  me  fait  craindre  que  le  pauvre  pere  n'ayt  de  la  peine 
a  se  retirer  d'entre  les  mains  de  ces  barbares  ce  qui  m'inquiete  fort." 
Dongan,-though  regarding  the  Jesuit  as  an  insidious  enemy,  had  treated 
him  much  better,  and  protected  him  on  several  occasions,  for  which  he 
received  the  emphatic  thanks  of  Dablon,  superior  of  the  missions. 
Dablon  to  Dongan  (1685?),  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  454. 


138  DENONVILLE   AND   DONG  AN.  [1687 

In  spite  of  all  his  pains,  it  was  whispered  abroad 
that  there  was  to  be  warf  and  the  rumor  was 
brought  to  the  ears  of  Dongan  by  some  of  the 
Canadian  deserters.  He  lost  no  time  in  warning 
the  Iroquois,  and  their  deputies  came  to  beg  his 
help.  Danger  humbled  them  for  the  moment ; 
and  they  not  only  recognized  King  James  as  their 
sovereign,  but  consented  at  last  to  call  his  rep- 
resentative Father  Corlaer  instead  of  Brother. 
Their  father,  however,  dared  not  promise  them 
soldiers ;  though,  in  spite  of  the  recent  treaty,  he 
caused  gunpowder  and  lead  to  be  given  them, 
and  urged  them  to  recall  the  powerful  war- 
parties  which  they  had  lately  sent  against  the 
Illinois.1 

Denonville  at  length  broke  silence,  and  ordered 
the  militia  to  muster.  They  grumbled  and  hesi- 
tated, for  they  remembered  the  failures  of  La 
Barre.  The  governor  issued  a  proclamation,  and 
the  bishop  a  pastoral  mandate.  There  were  ser- 
mons, prayers,  and  exhortations  in  all  the  churches. 
A  revulsion  of  popular  feeling  followed ;  and  the 
j>eople,  says  Denonville,  "  made  ready  for  the 
march  with  extraordinary  animation."  The  church 
showered  blessings  on  them  as  they  went,  and  daily 
masses  were  ordained  for  the  downfall  of  the  foes 
of  Heaven  and  of  France.2 

i  Colden,  97  (1727),  Denonville  au  Ministre,  8  Juin,  1687. 

2  Saint- Vallier,  Etat  Present.  Even  to  the  moment  of  marching, 
Denonville  pretended  that  he  meant  only  to  hold  a  peace  council  at  Fort 
Frontenac.  "  J'ai  tou jours  publie  que  je  n'allois  qu'a  l'assemble'e  gene'- 
rale  projetee  a  Oataracouy  (Fort.  Fro»tf»ac).  J'ai  toujours  tenu  ce  dis- 
cours  jusqu'au  temps  de  la  marche."   Denonville  au  Ministre,  SJuin,  1687. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

1687. 

DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENECAS. 

Treachery  of  Denonville. —  Iroquois  Generosity.  —  The  Invad- 
ing Army.  —  The  Western  Allies.  —  Plunder  of  English 
Traders. — Arrival  of  the  Allies.  —  Scene  at  the  French 
Camp.  —  March  of  Denonville.  —  Ambuscade.  —  Battle.  —  Vic- 
tory.—  The  Seneca  Babylon.  —  Imperfect  Success. 

A  host  of  flat-boats  filled  with  soldiers,  and  a 
host  of  Indian  canoes,  struggled  against  the  rapids 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  slowly  made  their  way  to 
Fort  Frontenac.  Among  the  troops  was  La  Hon- 
tan.  When  on  his  arrival  he  entered  the  gate 
of  the  fort,  he  saw  a  strange  sight.  A  row  of  posts 
was  planted  across  the  area  within,  and  to  each 
post  an  Iroquois  was  tied  by  the  neck,  hands,  and 
feet,  "  in  such  a  way,"  says  the  indignant  witness, 
"  that  he  could  neither  sleep  nor  drive  off  the 
mosquitoes."  A  number  of  Indians  attached  to  the 
expedition,  all  of  whom  were  Christian  converts 
from  the  mission  villages,  were  amusing  themselves 
by  burning  the  fingers  of  these  unfortunates  in 
the  bowls  of  their  pipes,  while  the  sufferers  sang 
their  death  songs.  La  Hontan  recognized  one  of 
them  who,  during  his  campaign  with  La  Barre, 
had   often  feasted   him  in  his  wigwam ;   and   the 


140  DENONVILLE   AND   THE   SENECAS.  [1687. 

sight  so  exasperated  the  young  officer  that  he 
could  scarcely  refrain  from  thrashing  the  tor- 
mentors with  his  walking  stick.1 

Though  the  prisoners  were  Iroquois,  they  were 
not  those  against  whom  the  expedition  was  directed ; 
nor  had  they,  so  far  as  appears,  ever  given  the 
French  any  cause  of  complaint.  They  belonged 
to  two  neutral  villages,  called  Kente  and  Gannei- 
ous,  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  forming 
a  sort  of  colony,  where  the  Siu^itians  of  Montreal 
had  established  a  mission.2  They  hunted  and 
fished  for  the  garrison  of  the  fort,  and  had  been 
on  excellent  terms  with  it.  Denonville,  however, 
feared  that  they  would  report  his  movements  to 
their  relations  across  the  lake ;  but  this  was  not 
his  chief  motive  for  seizing  them.  Like  La  Barre 
before  him,  he  had  received  orders  from  the  court 
that,  as  the  Iroquois  were  robust  and  strong,  he 
should  capture  as  many  of  them  as  possible,  and 
send  them  to  France  as  galley  slaves.3  The  order, 
without  doubt,  referred  to  prisoners  taken  in  war ; 
but  Denonville,  aware  that  the  hostile  Iroquois  were 
not  easily  caught,  resolved  to  entrap  their  unsus- 
pecting relatives. 

The  intenclant  Champigny  accordingly  pro- 
ceeded to  the  fort  in  advance  of  the  troops,  and 
invited  the  neighboring  Iroquois  to  a  feast.     They 

1  La  Hontan,  I.  03-05  (1700). 

2  Ganneious  or  Gane'yout  was  on  an  arm  of  the  lake  a  little  west  of 
the  present  town  of  Eredericksburg.  Kente'  or  Quinte  was  on  Quinte 
Bay. 

3  Le  Roy  a  La  Barre,  21  Juillet,  1684  ;  Le  Roy  a  Denonville  et  Champigny, 
30  Mars,  1687. 


1687.]  TREACHEKY  OF  DENONVILLE.  141 

came  to  the  number  of  thirty  men  and  about 
ninety  women  and  children,  whereupon  they  were 
surrounded  and  captured  by  the  intendant's  escort 
and  the  two  hundred  men  of  the  garrison.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Ganneious  were  not 
present;  and  one  Perre,  with  a  strong  party  of 
Canadians  and  Christian  Indians,  went  to  secure 
them.  He  acquitted  himself  of  his  errand  with 
great  address,  and  returned  with  eighteen  warriors 
and  about  sixty  women  and  children.  Champigny's 
exertions  did  not  end  here.  Learning  that  a  party 
of  Iroquois  were  peaceably  fishing  on  an  island 
in  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  offered  them  also  the 
hospitalities  of  Fort  Frontenac ;  but  they  were  too 
wary  to  be  entrapped.  Four  or  five  Iroquois  were 
however  caught  by  the  troops  on  their  way  up  the 
river.  They  were  in  two  or  more  parties,  and  they 
all  had  with  them  their  women  and  children,  which 
was  never  the  case  with  Iroquois  on  the  war-path. 
Hence  the  assertion  of  Denonville,  that  they  came 
with  hostile  designs,  is  very  improbable.  As  for 
the  last  six  months  he  had  constantly  urged  them, 
by  the  lips  of  Lamberville,  to  visit  him  and  smoke 
the  pipe  of  peace,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  these  Indian  families  were  on  their  way 
to  the  colony  in  consequence  of  his  invitations. 
Among  them  were  the  son  and  brother  of  Big 
Mouth,  who  of  late  had  been  an  advocate  of  peace  ; 
and,  in  order  not  to  alienate  him,  these  two  were 
eventually  set  free.  The  other  warriors  were  tied 
like  the  rest  to  stakes  at  the  fort. 

The  whole   number   of   prisoners   thus  secured 


142  DENONVILLE   AND   THE   SENEGAS.  [1687. 

was  fifty-one,  sustained  by  such  food  as  their  wives 
were  able  to  get  for  them.  Of  more  than  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  women  and  children  captured  with 
them,  many  died  at  the  fort,  partly  from  excite- 
ment and  distress,  and  partly  from  a  pestilential 
disease.  The  survivors  were  all  baptized,  and 
then  distributed  among  the  mission  villages  in  the 
colony.  The  men  were  sent  to  Quebec,  where 
some  of  them  were  given  up  to  their  Christian 
relatives  in  the  missions  who  had  claimed  them, 
and  whom  it  was  not  expedient  to  offend  ;  and  the 
rest,  after  being  baptized,  were  sent  to  France,  to 
share  with  convicts  and  Huguenots  the  horrible 
slavery  of   the  royal  galleys.1 

Before  reaching  Fort  Frontenac,  Denonville,  to 
his  great  relief,  was  joined  by  Lamberville,  delivered 
from  the  peril  to  which  the  governor  had  exposed 
him.     He  owed  his  life  to  an  act  of  magnanimity 

1  The  authorities  for  the  above  are  Denonville,  Champigny,  Abbe 
Belmont,  Bishop  Saint- Vallier,  and  the  author  of  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est 
passe  en  Canada  an  Suj<4  de  la  Guerre,  etc.,  depuis  Vannee  1682. 

Belmont,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  speaks  of  the  affair  with 
indignation,  which  was  shared  by  many  Erench  officers.  The  bishop, 
on  the  other  hand,  mentions  the  success  of  the  stratagem  as  a  reward 
accorded  by  Heaven  to  the  piety  of  Denonville.  Etat  Present  de  VEglise, 
91,92  (reprint,  1856). 

Denonville's  account,  which  is  sufficiently  explicit,  is  contained  in  the 
long  journal  of  the  expedition  which  he  sent  to  the  court,  and  in  several 
letters  to  the  minister.  Both  Belmont  and  the  author  of  the  Recueil 
speak  of  the  prisoners  as  having  been  "  pris  par  l'appat  d'un  festin." 

Mr.  Shea,  usually  so  exact,  has  been  led  into  some  error  by  con- 
founding the  different  acts  of  this  affair.  By  Denonville's  official 
journal,  it  appears  that,  on  the  19th  June,  Perre,  by  his  order,  captured 
several  Indians  on  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  that,  on  the  25th  June,  the  gover- 
nor, then  at  Rapide  Plat  on  his  way  up  the  river,  received  a  letter  from 
Champigny,  informing  him  that  he  had  seized  all  the  Iroquois  near  Fort 
Frontenac;  and  that,  on  the  3d  July,  Perre,  whom  Denonville  had  sent 
several  days  before  to  attack  Ganneious,  arrived  with  his  prisoners. 


1087.]  IROQUOIS   GENEROSITY.  143 

on  the  part  of  the  Iroquois,  which  does  them  signal 
honor.  One  of  the  prisoners  at  Fort  Frontenac 
had  contrived  to  escape,  and,  leaping  sixteen  feet 
to  the  ground  from  the  window  of  a  blockhouse, 
crossed  the  lake,  and  gave  the  alarm  to  his  coun- 
trymen. Apparently,  it  was  from  him  that  the 
Onondagas  learned  that  the  invitations  of  Onontio 
were  a  snare  ;  that  he  had  entrapped  their  rela- 
tives, and  was  about  to  fall  on  their  Seneca 
brethren  with  all  the  force  of  Canada.  The  Jesuit, 
whom  they  trusted  and  esteemed,  but  who  had 
been  used  as  an  instrument  to  beguile  them,  was 
summoned  before  a  council  of  the  chiefs.  They 
were  in  a  fury  at  the  news ;  and  Lamberville,  as 
much  astonished  by  it  as  they,  expected  instant 
death,  when  one  of  them  is  said  to  have  addressed 
him  to  the  following  effect :  "  We  know  you  too 
well  to  believe  that  you  meant  to  betray  us.  We 
think  that  you  have  been  deceived  as  well  as  we ; 
and  we  are  not  unjust  enough  to  punish  you  for 
the  crime  of  others.  But  you  are  not  safe  here. 
When  once  our  young  men  have  sung  the  war- 
song,  they  will  listen  to  nothing  but  their  fury; 
and  we  shall  not  be  able  to  save  you."  They  gave 
him  guides,  and  sent  him  by  secret  paths  to  meet 
the  advancing  army.1 


1  I  have  ventured  to  give  this  story  on  the  sole  authority  of  Charle- 
voix, for  the  contemporary  writers  are  silent  concerning  it.  Mr.  Shea 
thinks  that  it  involves  a  contradiction  of  date  ;  but  this  is  entirely  due 
to  confounding  the  capture  of  prisoners  by  Perre  at  Ganneious  on  July 
3d  with  the  capture  by  Champigny  at  Fort  Frontenac  about  June  20th. 
Lamberville  readied  Denonville's  camp,  one  day's  journey  from  the 
fort,  on  the  evening  of  the  29th.     {Journal  of  Denonville.)     This  would 


144  DEXOXVILLE   AND   THE   SEXECAS.  [1687. 

Again  the  fields  about  Fort  Frontenac  were 
covered  with  tents,  camp-sheds,  and  wigwams. 
Regulars,  militia,  and  Indians,  there  were  about 
two  thousand  men  ;  and,  besides  these,  eight  hundred 
regulars  just  arrived  from  France  had  been  left  at 
Montreal  to  protect  the  settlers.1  Fortune  thus 
far  had  smiled  on  the  enterprise,  and  she  now  gave 
Denonville  a  fresh  proof  of  her  favor.  On  the 
very  day  of  his  arrival,  a  canoe  came  from  Niagara 
with  news  that  a  large  body  of  allies  from  the  west 
had  reached  that  place  three  clays  before,  and  were 
waiting  his  commands.  It  was  more  than  he  had 
dared  to  hope.  In  the  preceding  autumn,  he  had 
ordered  Tonty,  commanding  at  the  Illinois,  and 
La  Durantaye,  commanding  at  Michillimackinac, 
to  muster  as  many  coureurs  de  bois  and  Indians  as 
possible,  and  join  him  early  in  July  at  Niagara. 
The  distances  were  vast,  and  the  difficulties  incal- 
culable. In  the  eyes  of  the  pious  governor,  their 
timely  arrival  was  a  manifest  sign  of  the  favor  of 
Heaven.  At  Fort  St.  Louis,  of  the  Illinois,  Tonty 
had  mustered  sixteen  Frenchmen  and  about  two 
hundred  Indians,  whom  he  led  across  the  country 
to  Detroit;  and  here  he  found  Du  Lhut,  La  Foret, 
and  La  Durantaye,  with  a  large  body  of  French 

give  four  and  a  half  days  for  news  of  the  treachery  to  reach  Onondaga, 
and  four  and  a  half  days  for  the  Jesuit  to  rejoin  his  countrymen. 

Charlevoix,  with  his  usual  carelessness,  says  that  the  Jesuit  Milet  had 
also  been  used  to  lure  the  Iroquois  into  the  snare,  and  that  he  was  soon 
after  captured  by  the  Oneidas,  and  delivered  by  an  Indian  matron. 
Milet's  captivity  did  not  take  place  till  1689-90. 

1  Denonville.  Cliampigny  says  832  regulars,  930  militia,  and  300 
Indians.  This  was  when  the  army  left  Montreal.  More  Indians  after- 
wards joined  it.  Belmont  says  1,800  French  and  Canadians  and  about 
300  Indians. 


1687.]  THE  ENGLISH  ON  THE  LAKES.  145 

and  Indians  from  the  upper  lakes.1  It  had  been 
the  work  of  the  whole  winter  to  induce  these 
savages  to  move.  Presents,  persuasion,  and  prom- 
ises had  not  been  spared ;  and  while  La  Durantaye, 
aided  by  the  Jesuit  Engelran,  labored  to  gain  over 
the  tribes  of  Michillimackinac,  the  indefatigable 
Nicolas  Per  rot  was  at  work  among  those  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Lake  Michigan.  They  were  of  a 
race  unsteady  as  aspens  and  fierce  as  wild-cats,  full 
of  mutual  jealousies,  without  rulers,  and  without 
laws ;  for  each  was  a  law  to  himself.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  persuade  them,  and,  when  persuaded, 
scarcely  possible  to  keep  them  so.  Perrot,  how- 
ever, induced  some  of  them  to  follow  him  to 
Michillimackinac,  where  many  hundreds  of  Algon- 
quin savages  were  presently  gathered  :  a  perilous 
crew,  who  changed  their  minds  every  day,  and 
whose  dancing,  singing,  and  yelping  might  turn  at 
any  moment  into  war-whoops  against  each  other 
or  against  their  hosts,  the  French.  The  Hurons 
showed  more  stability;  and  La  Durantaye  was 
reasonably  sure  that  some  of  them  would  follow 
him  to  the  war,  though  it  was  clear  that  others 
were  bent  on  allying  themselves  with  the  Senecas 
and  the  English.  As  for  the  Pottawatamies,  Sacs, 
Ojibwas,  Ottawas,  and  other  Algonquin  hordes,  no 
man  could  foresee  what  they  would  do.2 

Suddenly  a  canoe  arrived  with  news  that  a  party 
of  English  traders  was  approaching.     It  will  be  re- 

1  Tonty,  Me'moire  in  Margry,  Relations  Inedites. 

2  The  name  of  Ottawas,  here  used  specifically,  was  often  employed  by 
the  Erench  as  a  generic  term  for  the  Algonquin  tribes  of  the  Great 
Lakes. 

10 


146  DENONVILLE  AND   THE   SENECAS.  [1687. 

membered  that  two  bands  of  Dutch  and  English, 
under  Eooseboom  and  McGregory,  had  prepared 
to  set  out  together  for  Michillimackinac,  armed 
with  commissions  from  Dongan.  They  had  rashly 
changed  their  plan,  and  parted  company.  Roose- 
boom  took  the  lead,  and  McGregory  followed  some 
time  after.  Their  hope  was  that,  on  reaching 
Michillimackinac,  the  Indians  of  the  place,  attracted 
by  their  cheap  goods  and  their  abundant  supplies 
of  rum,  would  declare  for  them  and  drive  off  the 
French ;  and  this  would  probably  have  happened, 
but  for  the  prompt  action  of  La  Durantaye.  The 
canoes  of  Rooseboom,  bearing  twenty-nine  whites 
and  five  Mohawks  and  Mohicans,  were  not  far  dis- 
tant, when,  amid  a  prodigious  hubbub,  the  French 
commander  embarked  to  meet  him  with  a  hundred 
and  twenty  coureurs  de  hois}  Behind  them  fol- 
lowed a  swarm  of  Indian  canoes,  whose  occupants 
scarcely  knew  which  side  to  take,  but  for  the  most 
part  inclined  to  the  English.  Rooseboom  and  his 
men,  however,  naturally  thought  that  they  came 
to  support  the  French ;  and,  when  La  Durantaye 
bore  down  upon  them  with  threats  of  instant  death 
if  they  made  the  least  resistance,  they  surrendered 
at  once.  The  captors  carried  them  in  triumph  to 
Michillimackinac,  and  gave  their  goods  to  the  de- 
lighted Indians.  % 

"It  is  certain,"  wrote  Denonville,  "that,  if  the 
English  had  not  been  stopped  and  pillaged,  the 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  would  have  revolted  and  cut 

1  Attestation  of  N.  Harmentse  and  others  of  Rooseboom's  party 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  436.     La  Potherie  says,  three  hundred. 


1687.]  THE  ALLIES   ARRIVE.  147 

the  throats  of  all  our^  Frenchmen."  1  As  it  was, 
La  Durantaye's  exploit  produced  a  revulsion  of 
feeling,  and  many  of  the  Indians  consented  to  fol- 
low him.  He  lost  no  time  in  leading  them  down 
the  lake  to  join  Du  Lhut  at  Detroit ;  and,  when 
Tonty  arrived,  they  all  paddled  for  Niagara.  On 
the  way,  they  met  McGregory  with  a  party  about 
equal  to  that  of  Rooseboom.  He  had  with  him  a 
considerable  number  of  Ottawa  and  Huron  prison- 
ers whom  the  Iroquois  had  captured,  and  whom  he 
meant  to  return  to  their  countrymen  as  a  means  of 
concluding  the  long  projected  triple  alliance  be- 
tween the  English,  the  Iroquois,  and  the  tribes  of 
the  lakes.  This  bold  scheme  was  now  completely 
crushed.  All  the  English  were  captured  and  car- 
ried to  Niagara,  whence  they  and  their  luckless 
precursors  were  sent  prisoners  to  Quebec. 

La  Durantaye  and  his  companions,  with  a  hun- 
dred and  eighty  coureurs  de  hois  and  four  hundred 
Indians,  waited  impatiently  at  Niagara  for  orders 
from  the  governor.  A  canoe  despatched  in  haste 
from  Fort  Frontenac  soon  appeared  ;  and  they  were 
directed  to  repair  at  once  to  the  rendezvous  at 
Ironclequoit  Bay,  on  the  borders  of  the  Seneca 
country.2 

Denonville  was  already  on  his  way  thither.  On 
the  fourth  of  July,  he  had  embarked  at  Fort  Fron- 
tenac  with   four    hundred    bateaux   and    canoes, 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  25  Aout,  1687. 

2  The  above  is  drawn  from  papers  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  436,  IX. 
824,  336,  346,  405;  Saint- Vallier,  Etat  Present,  92;  Denonville,  Journal; 
Belmont,  Histoire  da  Canada ;  La  Potherie,  II.  chap.  xvi. ;  La  HontaD 
I.  96.     Colden's  account  is  confused  and  incorrect. 


148  DENONVILLE   AND   THE   SENECAS.  [1687. 

crossed  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  moved  west- 
ward along  the  southern  shore.  The  weather  was 
rough,  and  six  days  passed  before  he  descried  the 
low  headlands  of  Irondequoit  Bay.  Far  off  on  the 
glimmering  water,  he  saw  a  multitude  of  canoes 
advancing  to  meet  him.  It  was  the  flotilla  of  La 
Durantaye.  Good  management  and  good  luck  had 
so  disposed  it  that  the  allied  bands,  concentring 
from  points  more  than  a  thousand  miles  distant, 
reached  the  rendezvous  on  the  same  day.  This 
was  not  all.  The  Ottawas  of  Michillimackinac,  who 
refused  to  folloAV  La  Durantaye,  had  changed  their 
minds  the  next  morning,  embarked  in  a  body,  pad- 
dled up  the  Georgian  Bay  of  Lake  Huron,  crossed 
to  Toronto,  and  joined  the  allies  at  Niagara.  White 
and  red,  Denonville  now  had  nearly  three  thousand 
men  under  his  command.1 

All  were  gathered  on  the  low  point  of  land  that 
separates  Irondequoit  Bay  from  Lake  Ontario. 
"  Never,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "  had  Canada  seen 
such  a  sight ;  and  never,  perhaps,  will  she  see  such 
a  sight  again.  Here  was  the  camp  of  the  regulars 
from  France,  with  the  general's  head-quarters ;  the 
camp  of  the  four  battalions  of  Canadian  militia, 
commanded  by  the  nohlesse  of  the  country ;  the 
camp  of  the  Christian  Indians ;  and,  farther  on,  a 
swarm  of  savages  of  every  nation.  Their  features 
were  different,  and  so  were  their  manners,  their 
weapons,  their  decorations,  and  their  dances.  They 
sang  and  whooped  and  harangued  in  every  accent 

1  Recueil  dece  qui  s' est  passe'  en  Canada  depuis  1682;  Captain  Duplessis's 
Plan  for  the  Defence  of  Canada,  in  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  IX.  447. 


1687.]  MARCH  OF  DENONVILLE.  149 

and  tongue.  Most  of  them  wore  nothing  but  horns 
on  their  heads,  and  the  tails  of  beasts  behind  their 
backs.  Their  faces  were  painted  red  or  green, 
with  black  or  white  spots  ;  their  ears  and  noses 
were  hung  with  ornaments  of  iron ;  and  their  naked 
bodies  were  daubed  with  figures  of  various  sorts 
of  animals."  l 

These  were  the  allies  from  the  upper  lakes. 
The  enemy,  meanwhile,  had  taken  alarm.  Just 
after  the  army  arrived,  three  Seneca  scouts  called 
from  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  demanded  what 
they  meant  to  do.  "  To  fight  you,  you  blockheads," 
answered  a  Mohawk  Christian  attached  to  the 
French.  A  volley  of  bullets  was  fired  at  the 
scouts ;  but  they  escaped,  and  carried  the  news 
to  their  villages.9  Many  of  the  best  warriors  were 
absent.  Those  that  remained,  four  hundred  or 
four  hundred  and  fifty  by  their  own  accounts,  and 
eight  hundred  by  that  of  the  French,  mustered  in 
haste  ;  and,  though  many  of  them  were  mere  boys, 
they  sent  off  the  women  and  children,  hid  their 
most  valued  possessions,  burned  their  chief  town, 
and  prepared  to  meet  the  invaders. 

On  the  twelfth,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, Denonville  began  his  march,  leaving  four 
hundred  men  in  a  hastily  built  fort  to  guard  the 
bateaux  and  canoes.  Troops,  officers,  and  Indians, 
all  carried  their  provisions  at  their  backs.  Some 
of  the  Christian  Mohawks  guided  them  ;  but  guides 
were  scarcely  needed,  for  a  broad  Indian  trail  led 

1  The  first  part  of  the  extract  is  from  Belmont ;  the  second,  from 
Saint- Vallier. 

2  Information  received  from  several  Indians,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  444. 


150  DEXONVILLE  AND   THE    SENEGAS.  [1687. 

from  the  bay  to  the  great  Seneca  town,  twenty- 
two  miles  southward.  They  marched  three  leagues 
through  the  open  forests  of  oak,  and  encamped 
for  the  night.  In  the  morning,  the  heat  was 
intense.  The  men  gasped  in  the  dead  and  sultry 
air  of  the  woods,  or  grew  faint  in  the  pitiless  sun, 
as  they  waded  waist-deep  through  the  rank  grass 
of  the  narrow  intervales.  They  passed  safely 
through  two  dangerous  defiles,  and,  about  two  in 
the  afternoon,  began  to  enter  a  third.  Dense 
forests  covered  the  hills  on  either  hand.  La  Du- 
rantaye  with  Tonty  and  his  cousin  Du  Lhut  led  the 
advance,  nor  could  all  Canada  have  supplied  three 
men  better  for  the  work.  Each  led  his  band  of 
conreurs  de  bois,  white  Indians,  without  discipline, 
and  scarcely  capable  of  it,  but  brave  and  accus- 
tomed to  the  woods.  On  their  left  were  the  Iro- 
quois converts  from  the  missions  of  Saut  St.  Louis 
and  the  Mountain  of  Montreal,  fighting  under  the 
influence  of  their  ghostly  prompters  against  their 
own  countrymen.  On  the  right  were  the  pagan 
Indians  from  the  west.  The  woods  were  full  of 
these  painted  spectres,  grotesquely  horrible  in 
horns  and  tail ;  and  among  them  flitted  the  black 
robe  of  Father  Engelran,  the  Jesuit  of  Michilli- 
mackinac.  Nicolas  Perrot  and  two  other  bush- 
ranging  Frenchmen  were  assigned  to  command 
them,  but  in  fact  they  obeyed  no  man.  These 
formed  the  vanguard,  eight  or  nine  hundred  in  all, 
under  an  excellent  officer,  Callieres,  governor  of 
Montreal.  Behind  came  the  main  body  under 
Denonville,  each  of  the  four  battalions  of  regulars 


1687.]  AMBUSCADE.  151 

alternating  with  a  battalion  of  Canadians.  Some 
of  the  regulars  wore  light  armor,  while  the  Cana- 
dians were  in  plain  attire  of  coarse  cloth  or  buck- 
skin. Denonville,  oppressed  by  the  heat,  marched 
in  his  shirt.  "  It  is  a  rough  life,"  wrote  the  mar- 
quis, "  to  tramp  afoot  through  the  woods,  carrying 
one's  own  provisions  in  a  haversack,  devoured  by 
mosquitoes,  and  faring  no  better  than  a  mere 
soldier."  l  With  him  was  the  Chevalier  de  Vau- 
dreuil,  who  had  just  arrived  from  France  in  com- 
mand of  the  eight  hundred  men  left  to  guard 
the  colony,  and  who,  eager  to  take  part  in  the 
campaign,  had  pushed  forward  alone  to  join  the 
army.  Here,  too,  were  the  Canadian  seigniors  at 
the  head  of  their  vassals,  Berthier,  La  Valterie, 
Granville,  Longueuil,  and  many  more.  A  guard  of 
rangers  and  Indians  brought  up  the  rear. 

Scouts  thrown  out  in  front  ran  back  with  the 
report  that  they  had  reached  the  Seneca  clearings, 
and  had  seen  no  more  dangerous  enemy  than  three 
or  four  women  in  the  cornfields.  This  was  a  device 
of  the  Senecas  to  cheat  the  French  into  the  belief 
that  the  inhabitants  were  still  in  the  town.  It  had 
the  desired  effect.  The  vanguard  pushed  rapidly 
forward,  hoping  to  surprise  the  place,  and  ignorant 
that,  behind  the  ridge  of  thick  forests  on  their 
right,  among  a  tangled  growth  of  beech-trees  in 
the  gorge  of  a  brook,  three  hundred  ambushed 
warriors  lay  biding  their  time. 

Hurrying  forward  through  the  forest,  they  left 
the  main  body  behind,  and  soon  reached  the  end 

1  Denonville  an  Ministre,  8  Juin,  1687. 


152  DENONVILLE   AND   THE    SEXECAS.  [1687. 

of  the  defile.  The  woods  were  still  dense  on  their 
left  and  front ;  but  on  their  right  lay  a  great  marsh, 
covered  with  alder  thickets  and  rank  grass.  Sud- 
denly the  air  was  filled  with  yells,  and  a  rapid 
though  distant  fire  was  opened  from  the  thickets 
and  the  forest.  Scores  of  painted  savages,  stark 
naked,  some  armed  with  swords  and  some  with 
hatchets,  leaped  screeching  from  their  ambuscade, 
and  rushed  against  the  van.  Almost  at  the  same 
moment  a  burst  of  whoops  and  firing  sounded  in 
the  defile  behind.  It  was  the  ambushed  three 
hundred  supporting  the  onset  of  their  countrymen 
in  front ;  but  they  had  made  a  fatal  mistake.  De- 
ceived by  the  numbers  of  the  vanguard,  they  sup- 
posed it  to  be  the  whole  army,  never  suspecting 
that  Denonville  was  close  behind  with  sixteen  hun- 
dred men.  It  was  a  surprise  on  both  sides.  So 
dense  was  the  forest  that  the  advancing  battalions 
could  see  neither  the  enemy  nor  each  other.  Ap- 
palled by  the  din  of  whoops  and  firing,  redoubled 
by  the  echoes  of  the  narrow  valley,  the  whole  army 
was  seized  with  something  like  a  panic.  Some  of 
the  officers,  it  is  said,  threw  themselves  on  the 
ground  in  their  fright.  There  were  a  few  moments 
of  intense  bewilderment.  The  various  corps  be- 
came broken  and  confused,  and  moved  hither  and 
thither  without  knowing  why.  Denonville  be- 
haved with  great  courage.  He  ran,  sword  in  hand, 
to  where  the  uproar  was  greatest,  ordered  the 
drums  to  beat  the  charge,  turned  back  the  militia 
of  Berthier  who  were  trying  to  escape,  and  com- 
manded them  and  all  others  whom  he  met  to  fire 


1687.]  VICTORY.  153 

on  whatever  looked  like  an  enemy.  He  was 
bravely  seconded  by  Callieres,  La  Valterie,  and 
several  other  officers.  The  Christian  Iroquois 
fought  well  from  the  first,  leaping  from  tree  to 
tree,  and  exchanging  shots  and  defiance  with  their 
heathen  countrymen ;  till  the  Senecas,  seeing 
themselves  confronted  by  numbers  that  seemed 
endless,  abandoned  the  field,  after  heavy  loss, 
carrying  with  them  many  of  their  dead  and  all  of 
their  wounded.1 

Denonville  made  no  attempt  to  pursue.  He 
had  learned  the  dangers  of  this  blind  warfare  of 
the  woods;  and  he  feared  that  the  Senecas  would 
waylay  him  again  in  the  labyrinth  of  bushes  that 
lay  between  him  and  the  town.  "  Our  troops,"  he 
says,  "  were  all  so  overcome  by  the  extreme  heat 
and  the  long;  march  that  we  were  forced  to  remain 
where  we  were  till  morning.  We  had  the  pain  of 
witnessing  the  usual  cruelties  of  the  Indians,  who 
cut  the  dead  bodies  into  quarters,  like  butchers' 
meat,  to  put  into  their  kettles,  and  opened  most  of 
them  while  still  warm  to  drink  the  blood.  Our 
rascally  Ottawas  particularly  distinguished  them- 
selves by  these  barbarities,  as  well  as  by  cowardice  ; 
for  they  made  off  in  the  fight.  We  had  five  or  six 
men  killed  on  the  spot,  and  about  twenty  wounded, 
among  whom  was  Father  Engelran,  who  was  badly 
hurt  by  a  gun-shot.  Some  prisoners  who  escaped 
from  the  Senecas  tell  us  that  they  lost  forty  men 
killed  outright,  twenty-five  of  whom  we  saw  butch- 

1  For  authorities,  see  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter.  The  account 
of  Charlevoix  is  contradicted  at  several  points  by  the  contemporary 
writers. 


154  DEXOXVILLE   AND   THE  SENECAS.  [1687. 

ered.  One  of  the  escaped  prisoners  saw  the  rest 
buried,  and  he  saw  also  more  than  sixty  very 
dangerously  wounded."  * 

In  the  morning,  the  troops  advanced  in  order  of 
battle  through  a  marsh  covered  with  alders  and 
tall  grass,  whence  they  had  no  sooner  emerged 
than,  says  Abbe  Belmont,  "  we  began  to  see  the 
famous  Babylon  of  the  Senecas,  where  so  many 
crimes  have  been  committed,  so  much  blood  spilled, 
and  so  many  men  burned.  It  was  a  village  or 
town  of  bark,  on  the  top  of  a  hill.  They  had 
burned  it  a  week  before.  We  found  nothing  in  it 
but  the  graveyard  and  the  graves,  full  of  snakes 
and  other  creatures ;  a  great  mask,  with  teeth 
and  eyes  of  brass,  and  a  bearskin  drawn  over  it, 
with  which  they  performed  their  conjurations." a 
The  fire  had  also  spared  a  number  of  huge  recep- 
tacles of  bark,  still  filled  with  the  last  season's 
corn  ;  while  the  fields  around  were  covered  with 
the  growing  crop,  ripening  in  the  July  sun.  There 
were  hogs,  too,  in  great  number ;  for  the  Iroquois 
did  not  share  the  antipathy  with  which  Indians 
are  apt  to  regard  that  unsavory  animal,  and  from 
which  certain  philosophers  have  argued  their  de- 
scent from  the  Jews. 

The  soldiers  killed  the  hogs,  burned  the  old 
corn,  and  hacked  down  the  new  with  their  swords. 
Next  they  advanced  to  an  abandoned  Seneca  fort 
on  a  hill  half  a  league  distant,  and  burned  it,  with 

1  Denonville  an  Ministre,  25  Aout,  1687.  In  his  journal,  written  after- 
wards, he  says  that  the  Senecas  left  twenty-seven  dead  on  the  field,  and 
carried  off  twenty  more,  besides  upwards  of  sixty  mortally  wounded. 

2  Belmont.     A  few  words  are  added  from  Saint- Vallier. 


1687.]  CONDITION  OF  THE   TROOPS.  155 

all  that  it  contained.  Ten  days  were  passed  in 
the  work  of  havoc.  Three  neighboring  villages 
were  levelled,  and  all  their  fields  laid  waste.  The 
amount  of  corn  destroyed  was  prodigious.  De- 
nonville  reckons  it  at  the  absurdly  exaggerated 
amount  of  twelve  hundred  thousand  bushels. 

The  Senecas,  laden  with  such  of  their  possessions 
as  they  could  carry  off,  had  fled  to  their  confeder- 
ates in  the  east ;  and  Denonville  did  not  venture 
to  pursue  them.  His  men,  feasting  without  stint 
on  green  corn  and  fresh  pork,  were  sickening  rap- 
idly, and  his  Indian  allies  were  deserting  him. 
"  It  is  a  miserable  business,"  he  wrote,  "  to  com- 
mand savages,  who,  as  soon  as  they  have  knocked 
an  enemy  in  the  head,  ask  for  nothing  but  to  go 
home  and  carry  with  them  the  scalp,  which  they 
take  on0  like  a  skull-cap.  You  cannot  believe  what 
trouble  I  had  to  keep  them  till  the  corn  was  cut." 

On  the  twenty-fourth,  he  withdrew,  with  all  his 
army,  to  the  fortified  post  at  Irondequoit  Bay, 
whence  he  proceeded  to  Niagara,  in  order  to  ac- 
complish his  favorite  purpose  of  building  a  fort 
there.  The  troops  were  set  at  work,  and  a  stock- 
ade was  planted  on  the  point  of  land  at  the  eastern 
angle  between  the  River  Niagara  and  Lake  Ontario, 
the  site  of  the  ruined  fort  built  by  La  Salle  nine 
years  before.1  Here  he  left  a  hundred  men,  under 
the  Chevalier  cle  Troyes,  and,  embarking  with  the 
rest  of  the  army,  descended  to  Montreal. 

The  campaign  was  but  half  a  success.     Joined 

1  Proces-verbal  de  la  Prise  de  Possession  de  Niagara,  31  Juillet,  1687. 
There  are  curious  errors  of  date  in  this  document  regarding  the  proceed- 
ings of  La  Salle. 


156  DENONVILLE  AND   THE   SENECAS.  [1687. 

to  the  capture  of  the  English  traders  on  the  lakes, 
it  had,  indeed,  prevented  the  defection  of  the 
western  Indians,  and  in  some  slight  measure  re- 
stored their  respect  for  the  French,  of  whom, 
nevertheless,  one  of  them  was  heard  to  say  that 
they  were  good  for  nothing  but  to  make  war  on 
hogs  and  corn.  As  for  the  Senecas,  they  were 
more  enraged  than  hurt.  They  could  rebuild  their 
bark  villages  in  a  few  weeks;  and,  though  they 
had  lost  their  harvest,  their  confederates  would 
not  let  them  starve.1  A  converted  Iroquois  had 
told  the  governor  before  his  departure  that,  if  he 
overset  a  wasps'  nest,  he  must  crush  the  Avasps,  or 
they  would  sting  him.  Denonville  left  the  wasps 
alive. 

Denonville's  Campaign  against  the  Senecas.  —  The  chief 
authorities  on  this  matter  are  the  journal  of  Denonville,  of  which 
there  is  a  translation  in  the  Colonial  Documents  of  New  York, 
IX.  ;  the  letters  of  Denonville  to  the  Minister  ;  the  JEtat  Present 
de  VEglise  de  la  Colonie  Francaise,  by  Bishop  Saint- Vallier  ;  the 
Recueil  de.  ce  qui  s'est  passe  en  Canada  au  Sujet  de  la  Guerre,  tant 
des  Anglais  que  des  Iroquois,  depuis  Vann'ee  1682 ;  and  the  excellent 
account  by  Abbe  Belmont  in  his  chronicle  called  Histoire  du  Ca- 
nada. To  these  may  be  added  La  Hontan,  Tonty,  Nicolas  Perrot, 
La  Potherie,  and  the  Senecas  examined  before  the  authorities  of 
Albany,  whose  statements  are  printed  in  the  Colonial  Documents, 
III.  These  are  the  original  sources.  Charlevoix  drew  his  ac- 
count from  a  portion  of  them.  It  is  inexact,  and  needs  the  cor- 
rection of  his  learned  annotator,  Mr.  Shea.  Colden,  Smith,  and 
other  English  writers  follow  La  Hontan. 

The  researches  of  Mr.  O.  H.  Marshall,  of  Buffalo,  have  left  no 
reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  scene  of  the  battle,  and  the  site  of  the 
neighboring  town.     The  Seneca  ambuscade  was  on  the  marsh  and 

1  The  statement  of  some  later  writers,  that  many  of  the  Senecas 
died  during  the  following  winter  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  their 
corn,  is  extremely  doubtful.  Captain  Duplessis,  in  his  Plan  for  the  De- 
fence of  Canada,  1690,  declares  that  not  one  of  them  perished  of  hunger. 


1687.]  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST   THE   SENECAS.  157 

the  bills  immediately  north  and  west  of  the  present  village  of 
Victor;  and  their  chief  town,  called  Gannagaro  by  Denonville, 
was  on  the  top  of  Boughton's  Hill,  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  dis- 
tant. Immense  quantities  of  Indian  remains  were  formerly  found 
here,  and  many  are  found  to  this  day.  Charred  corn  has  been 
turned  up  in  abundance  by  the  plough,  showing  that  the  place  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  remains  of  the  fort  burned  by  the  French 
are  still  plainly  visible  on  a  hill  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  an- 
cient town.  A  plan  of  it  will  be  found  in  Squier's  Aboriginal 
Monuments  of  New  York.  The  site  of  the  three  other  Seneca  towns 
destroyed  by  Denonville,  and  called  Totiakton,  Gannondata,  and 
Gannongarae,  can  also  be  identified.  See  Marshall,  in  Collections 
N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc,  2d  Series,  II.  Indian  traditions  of  historical 
events  are  usually  almost  worthless  ;  but  the  old  Seneca  chief 
Dyunehogawah,  or  "John  Blacksmith,"  who  was  living  a  few 
years  ago  at  the  Tonawanda  reservation,  recounted  to  Mr.  Mar- 
shall with  remarkable  accuracy  the  story  of  the  battle  as  handed 
down  from  his  ancestors  who  lived  at  Gannagaro,  close  to  the 
scene  of  action.  Gannagaro  was  the  Canagorah  of  Wentworth 
Greenalgh's  Journal.  The  old  Seneca,  on  being  shown  a  map  of 
the  locality,  placed  his  finger  on  the  spot  where  the  fight  took 
place,  and  which  was  long  known  to  the  Senecas  by  the  name  of 
Dyagodiyu,  or  "  The  Place  of  a  Battle."  It  answers  in  the  most 
perfect  manner  to  the  French  contemporary  descriptions. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1687-1689. 
THE   IROQUOIS  INVASION. 

Altercations.  —  Attitude  of  Dongan.  —  Martial  Preparation.  — 
Perplexity  of  Dexonville. —  Axgry  Correspondence. —  Re- 
call of  Dongan. —  Sir  Edmund  Axdros.  —  Humiliation  of 
Dexoxville. —  Distress  of  Canada.  —  Appeals  for  Help. — 
Iroquois  Diplomacy.  —  A  Huron  Macchiavel.  —  The  Catas- 
trophe.—  Ferocity  of  the  Victors.  —  War  with  Exglaxd. — 
Recall  of  Dexonville. 

When  Dongan  heard  that  the  French  had  in- 
vaded the  Senecas,  seized  English  traders  on  the 
lakes,  and  built  a  fort  at  Niagara,  his  wrath  was 
kindled  anew.  He  sent  to  the  Iroquois,  and  sum- 
moned them  to  meet  him  at  Albany  ;  told  the 
assembled  chiefs  that  the  late  calamity  had  fallen 
upon  them  because  they  had  held  councils  with 
the  French  without  asking  his  leave  ;  forbade  them 
to  do  so  again,  and  informed  them  that,  as  subjects 
of  King  James,  they  must  make  no  treaty,  except 
by  the  consent  of  his  representative,  the  governor 
of  New  York.  He  declared  that  the  Ottawas 
and  other  remote  tribes  were  also  British  sub- 
jects ;  that  the  Iroquois  should  unite  with  them, 
to  expel  the  French  from  the  west ;  and  that  all 
alike  should  bring  clown  their  beaver  skins  to  the 
English  at  Albany.    Moreover,  he  enjoined  them  to 


1687.]  ATTITUDE   OF  DONGAN.  159 

receive  no  more  French  Jesuits  into  their  towns, 
and  to  call  home  their  countrymen  whom  these 
fathers  had  converted  and  enticed  to  Canada. 
"  Obey  my  commands,"  added  the  governor,  "  for 
that  is  the  only  way  to  eat  well  and  sleep  well, 
without  fear  or  disturbance."  The  Iroquois,  who 
wanted  his  help,  seemed  to  assent  to  all  he  said. 
"  We  will  fight  the  French,"  exclaimed  their  orator, 
"  as  long  as  we  have  a  man  left."  1 

At  the  same  time,  Dongan  wrote  to  Denonville 
demanding  the  immediate  surrender  of  the  Dutch 
and  English  captured  on  the  lakes.  Denonville 
angrily  replied  that  he  would  keep  the  prisoners, 
since  Dongan  had  broken  the  treaty  of  neutrality 
by  "  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  savages."  The 
English  governor,  in  return,  upbraided  his  corre- 
spondent for  invading  British  territory.  "  I  will 
endevour  to  protect  his  Majesty's  subjects  here 
from  your  unjust  invasions,  till  I  hear  from  the 
King,  my  Master,  who  is  the  greatest  and  most 
glorious  Monarch  that  ever  set  on  a  Throne,  and 
would  do  as  much  to  propagate  the  Christian 
faith  as  any  prince  that  lives.  He  did  not  send  me 
here  to  suffer  you  to  give  laws  to  his  subjects.  I 
hope,  notwithstanding  all  your  trained  soulcliers 
and  greate  Officers  come  from  Europe,  that  our 
masters  at  home  will  suffer  us  to  do  ourselves  jus- 
tice on  you  for  the  injuries  and  spoyle  you  have 
committed  on  us ;  and  I  assure  you,  Sir,  if  my 
Master  gives  leave,  I  will  be  as  soon  at  Quebeck  as 

1  Dongan' s  Propositions  to  the  Five  Nations ;  Answer  of  the  Five  Nations, 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  438,  441. 


160  THE   IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1687-88. 

you  shall  be  att  Albany.  What  you  alleage  con- 
cerning my  assisting  the  Sinnakees  (Senecas)  with 
arms  and  ammunition  to  warr  against  you  was 
never  given  by  mee  untill  the  sixt  of  August  last, 
when  understanding  of  your  unjust  proceedings 
in  invading  the  King  my  Master's  territorys  in  a 
hostill  manner,  I  then  gave  them  powder,  lead,  and 
armes,  and  united  the  five  nations  together  to  de- 
fend that  part  of  our  King's  dominions  from  your 
jnjurious  invasion.  And  as  for  offering  them  men,  in 
that  you  doe  me  wrong,  our  men  being  all  buisy  then 
at  their  harvest,  and  I  leave  itt  to  your  judgment 
whether  there  was  any  occasion  when  only  foure 
hundred  of  them  engaged  with  your  whole  army. 
I  advise  you  to  send  home  all  the  Christian  and 
Indian  prisoners  the  King  of  England's  subjects 
you  unjustly  do  deteine.  This  is  what  I  have 
thought  fitt  to  answer  to  your  reflecting  and  pro- 
voking letter."  * 

As  for  the  French  claims  to  the  Iroquois  country 
and  the  upper  lakes,  he  turned  them  to  ridicule. 
They  were  founded,  in  part,  on  the  missions  estab- 
lished there  by  the  Jesuits.  "  The  King  of  China,' ' 
observes  Dongan,  "  never  goes  anywhere  without 
two  Jessuits  with  him.  I  wonder  you  make  not 
the  like  pretence  to  that  Kingdome."  He  speaks 
with  equal  irony  of  the  claim  based  on  discovery : 
"  Pardon  me  if  I  say  itt  is  a  mistake,  except  you  will 
affirme  that  a  few  loose  fellowes  rambling  amongst 
Indians  to  keep  themselves  from  starving  gives  the 
French  a  right  to  the  Countrey."     And  of  the  claim 

i  Dongan  to  Denonville,  9  Sept.,  1687,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  472. 


1687-88.]  MARTIAL  PREPARATION.  161 

based  on  geographical  divisions  :  "  Your  reason  is 
that  some  rivers  or  rivoletts  of  this  country  run 
out  into  the  great  river  of  Canada.  0  just 
God  !  what  new,  farr-f etched,  and  unheard-of  pre- 
tence is  this  for  a  title  to  a  country.  The  French 
King  may  have  as  good  a  pretence  to  all  those 
Countrys  that  drink  clarett  and  Brandy."  *  In 
spite  of  his  sarcasms,  it  is  clear  that  the  claim  of 
prior  discovery  and  occupation  was  on  the  side  of 
the  French. 

The  dispute  now  assumed  a  new  phase.  James 
II.  at  length  consented  to  own  the  Iroquois  as  his 
subjects,  ordering  Dongan  to  protect  them,  and 
repel  the  French  by  force  of  arms,  should  they 
attack  them  again.2  At  the  same  time,  conferences 
were  opened  at  London  between  the  French  am- 
bassador and  the  English  commissioners  appointed 
to  settle  the  questions  at  issue.  Both  disputants 
claimed  the  Iroquois  as  subjects,  and  the  contest 
wore  an  aspect  more  serious  than  before. 

The  royal  declaration  was  a  great  relief  to  Don- 
gan. Thus  far  he  had  acted  at  his  own  risk ;  now 
he  was  sustained  by  the  orders  of  his  king.  He 
instantly  assumed  a  warlike  attitude ;  and,  in  the 
next  spring,  wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Sunderland 
that  he  had  been  at  Albany  all  winter,  with  four 
hundred  infantry,  fifty  horsemen,  and  eight  hun- 
dred Indians.  This  was  not  without  cause,  for  a 
report  had  come  from   Canada    that  the    French 

1  Dongan's  Fourth  Paper  to  the  French  Agents,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  528. 

2  Warrant,  authorizing  Governor  Dongan  to  protect  the  Five  Nations,  10 
Nov.,  1687,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  503. 

11 


162  THE   IROQUOIS   INVASION.  [1687-88. 

were  about  to  nvirch  on  Albany  to  destroy  it. 
"And  now,  my  Lord/'  continues  Dongan,  "we 
must  build  forts  in  ye  countrey  upon  ye  great 
Lakes,  as  ye  French  doe,  otherwise  we  lose  ye 
Countrey,  ye  Bever  trade,  and  our  Indians."  1 
Denonville,  meanwhile,  had  begun  to  yield,  and 
promised  to  send  back  McGregory  and  the  men 
captured  with  him.2  Dongan,  not  satisfied,  in- 
sisted on  payment  for  all  the  captured  merchandise, 
and  on  the  immediate  demolition  of  Fort  Niagara. 
He  added  another  demand,  which  must  have  been 
singularly  galling  to  his  rival.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  Iroquois  prisoners  seized  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
and  sent  to  the  galleys  in  France,  should  be  sur- 
rendered as  British  subjects  to  the  English  ambas- 
sador at  Paris  or  the  secretary  of  state  in  London.3 
Denonville  was  sorely  jierplexecl.  He  was  hard 
pressed,  and  eager  for  peace  with  the  Iroquois  at 
any  price ;  but  Dongan  was  using  every  means  to 
prevent  their  treating  of  peace  with  the  French 
governor  until  he  had  complied  with  all  the  Eng- 
lish demands.  In  this  extremity,  Denonville  sent 
Father  Vaillant  to  Albany,  in  the  hope  of  bringing 
his  intractable  rival  to  conditions  less  humiliating. 
The  Jesuit  played  his  part  with  ability,  and  proved 
more  than  a  match  for  his  adversary  in  dialectics  ; 
but  Dongan  held  fast  to  all  his  demands.     Vaillant 

1  Dongan  to  Sunderland,  Feb.,  1688,  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  III.  510. 

2  Denonville  a  Dongan,  2  Oct.,  1G87.  McGregory  soon  arrived,  and 
Dongan  sent  him  back  to  Canada  as  an  emissary  with  a  civil  message  to 
Denonville.     Dongan  to  Denonville,  10  Nov.,  1687. 

3  Dongan  to  Denonville,  31  Oct.,  1687  ;  Dongan  s  First  Demand  of  the 
French  Agents,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  515,  520. 


1687-88.]  ANGRY   CORRESPONDENCE.  163 

tried  to  temporize,  and  asked  for  a  truce,  with  a 
view  to  a  final  settlement  by  reference  to  the  two 
kings.1  Dongan  referred  the  question  to  a  meeting 
of  Iroquois  chiefs,  who  declared  in  reply  that  they 
would  make  neither  peace  nor  truce  till  Fort  Niagara 
was  demolished  and  all  the  prisoners  restored. 
Dongan,  well  pleased,  commended  their  spirit,  and 
assured  them  that  King  James,  "  who  is  the  greatest 
man  the  sunn  shines  uppon,  and  never  told  a  ly  in 
his  life,  has  given  you  his  Royall  word  to  protect 
you."  2  Vaillant  returned  from  his  bootless  errand  ; 
and  a  stormy  correspondence  followed  between  the 
two  governors.  Dongan  renewed  his  demands, 
then  protested  his  wish  for  peace,  extolled  King 
James  for  his  pious  zeal,  and  declared  that  he  was 
sending  over  missionaries  of  his  own  to  convert  the 
Iroquois.3  What  Denonville  wanted  was  not  their 
conversion  by  Englishmen,  but  their  conversion 
by  Frenchmen,  and  the  presence  in  their  towns 
of  those  most  useful  political  agents,  the  Jesuits.4 
He  replied  angrily,  charging  Dongan  with  prevent- 
ing the  conversion  of  the  Iroquois  by  driving  off 
the  French  missionaries,  and  accusing  him,  farther, 
of  instigating   the  tribes  of   New  York  to  attack 

1  The  papers  of  this  discussion  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs. ,111. 

2  Donrjan's  Reply  to  the  Five  Nations,  Ibid.,  III.  535. 

3  Dongan  to  Denonville,  17  Feb.,  1638,  Ibid.,  III.  519. 

4  "  Ilya  une  necessite  indispensable  pour  les  interais  de  la  Religion  et 
de  la  Colonie  de  restablir  les  missionaires  Jesuites  dans  tous  les  villages 
Iroquois  :  si  vous  ne  trouves  moyen  de  faire  retourner  ces  Peres  dans 
leurs  anciennes  missions,  vous  deves  en  attendre  beaucoup  de  malheur 
pour  cette  Colonie  ;  car  je  dois  vous  dire  que  jusqu'icy  c'est  leur  habilite 
qui  a  soutenu  les  affaires  du  pays  par  leur  scavoir-faire  a  gouvern^r  les 
esprits  de  ces  barbares,  qui  ne  sont  Sauvages  que  de  nom."  Denonville, 
Me'moire  adressg  au  Ministre,  9  Nov.,  1688. 


164  THE   IROQUOIS   INVASION.  [1687-88. 

Canada.1  Suddenly  there  was  a  change  in  the 
temper  of  his  letters.  He  wrote  to  his  rival  in 
terms  of  studied  civility ;  declared  that  he  wished 
he  could  meet  him,  and  consult  with  him  on  the 
best  means  of  advancing  the  cause  of  true  religion  ; 
begged  that  he  would  not  refuse  him  his  friend- 
ship ;  and  thanked  him  in  warm  terms  for  befriend- 
ing some  French  prisoners  whom  he  had  saved  from 
the  Iroquois,  and  treated  with  great  kindness.2 

This  change  was  due  to  despatches  from  Ver- 
sailles, in  which  Denonville  was  informed  that  the 
matters  in  dispute  would  soon  be  amicably  settled 
by  the  commissioners  ;  that  he  was  to  keep  on  good 
terms  with  the  English  commanders,  and,  what 
pleased  him  still  more,  that  the  king  of  England 
was  about  to  recall  Dongan.3  In  fact,  James  II. 
had  resolved  on  remodelling  his  American  colonies. 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  New  England  had 
been  formed  into  one  government  under  Sir  Ed- 
mund Andros ;  and  Dongan  was  summoned  home, 
where  a  regiment  was  given  him,  with  the  rank  of 
major-general  of  artillery.  Denonville  says  that, 
in  his  efforts  to  extend  English  trade  to  the  Great 

i  Denonville  a  Dongan,  24  Avril,  1688  ;  Ibid.,  12  Mai,  1688.  Whether 
the  charge  is  true  is  questionable.  Dongan  had  just  written  that,  if  the 
Iroquois  did  harm  to  the  French,  he  was  ordered  to  offer  satisfaction, 
and  had  already  done  so. 

2  Denonville  a  Dongan,  18  Juin,  1688 ;  Ibid.,  5  Juillet,  1688  ;  Ibid.,  20 
Aug.,  1688.  "  Je  n'ai  done  qu'a  vous  asseurer  que  toute  la  Colonie  a  une 
tres-parfaite  rceonnoissance  des  bons  offices  que  ces  pauvres  malheureux 
ont  reou  de  vous  et  de  vos  peuples." 

3  Me'moire  pour  servir  d 'Instruction  au  Sr.  Marquis  de  Denonville,  8  Mars, 
1688;  Le  Roy  a  Denonville,  meme  date;  Seignelay  a  Denonville,  meme  date. 
Louis  XIV.  had  demanded  Dongan's  recall.  How  far  this  had  influenced 
the  action  of  James  II.  it  is  difficult  to  say. 


1687-88.]  SIR  EDMUND  ANDROS.  1G5 

Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  his  late  rival  had  been 
influenced  by  motives  of  personal  gain.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  he  was  a  bold  and  vigorous  defender  of 
the  claims  of  the  British  crown. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros  now  reigned  over  New 
York ;  and,  by  the  terms  of  his  commission,  his  rule 
stretched  westward  to  the  Pacific.  The  usual 
official  courtesies  passed  between  him  and  Denon- 
ville ;  but  Andros  renewed  all  the  demands  of  his 
predecessor,  claimed  the  Iroquois  as  subjects,  and 
forbade  the  French  to  attack  them.1  The  new  gov- 
ernor was  worse  than  the  old.  Denonville  wrote 
to  the  minister :  "  I  send  you  copies  of  his  letters, 
by  which  you  will  see  that  the  spirit  of  Dongan 
has  entered  into  the  heart  of  his  successor,  who 
may  be  less  passionate  and  less  interested,  but  who 
is,  to  say  the  least,  quite  as  much  opposed  to  us, 
and  perhaps  more  dangerous  by  his  suppleness  and 
smoothness  than  the  other  was  by  his  violence. 
What  he  has  just  clone  among  the  Iroquois,  whom 
he  pretends  to  be  under  his  government,  and  whom 
he  prevents  from  coming  to  meet  me,  is  a  certain 
proof  that  neither  he  nor  the  other  English-gov- 
ernors, nor  their  people,  will  refrain  from  doing 
this  colony  all  the  harm  they  can."  2 

While  these  things  were  passing,  the  state  of 
Canada  was  deplorable,  and    the    position    of  its 

1  Andros  to  Denonville,  21  Aug.,  1688  ;  Ibid.,  29  Sept.,  1688. 

2  Me'moire  de  VEstat  Present  des  Affaires  de  ce  Pays  depuis  le  lOme  Aoust, 
1688,  jusqu'au  dernier  Octobre.de  la  mesme  anne'e.  He  declares  that  the  Eng- 
lish are  always  "  itching  for  the  western  trade,"  that  their  favorite  plan 
is  to  establish  a  post  on  the  Ohio,  and  that  they  have  made  the  attempt 
three  times  already. 


166  THE   IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1688. 

governor  as  mortifying  as  it  was  painful.  He 
thought  with  good  reason  that  the  maintenance  of 
the  new  fort  at  Niagara  was  of  great  importance 
to  the  colony,  and  he  had  repeatedly  refused  the 
demands  of  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois  for  its  demoli- 
tion. But  a  power  greater  than  sachems  and  gov- 
ernors presently  intervened.  The  provisions  left 
at  Niagara,  though  abundant,  were  atrociously  bad. 
Scurvy  and  other  malignant  diseases  soon  broke 
out  among  the  soldiers.  The  Senecas  prowled 
about  the  place,  and  no  man  dared  venture  out 
for  hunting,  fishing,  or  firewood.1  The  fort  was 
first  a  prison,  then  a  hospital,  then  a  charnel-house, 
till  before  spring  the  garrison  of  a  hundred  men 
was  reduced  to  ten  or  twelve.  In  this  condition, 
they  were  found  towards  the  end  of  April  by  a 
large  war-party  of  friendly  Miamis,  who  entered 
the  place  and  held  it  till  a  French  detachment  at 
length  arrived  for  its  relief.2  The  garrison  of  Fort 
Frontenac  had  suffered  from  the  same  causes, 
though  not  to  the  same  degree.  Denonville  feared 
that  he  should  be  forced  to  abandon  them  both. 
The  way  was  so  long  and  so  dangerous,  and  the 
governor  had  grown  of  late  so  cautious,  that  he 
dreaded  the  risk  of  maintaining*  such  remote  com- 
munications.  On  second  thought,  he  resolved  to 
keep  Frontenac  and  sacrifice  Niagara.  He  prom- 
ised Dongan  that  he  would  demolish  it,  and  he 
kept  his  word.3 

1  Denonville,  Memoire  du  10  Aoust,  1688. 

2  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  en  Canada  depuis  Vanne'e  1682.  The  writer 
was  an  officer  of  the  detachment,  and  describes  what  he  saw.  Compare 
La  Potherie,II.  210;  and  La  Hontan,  I.  131  (1709). 

3  Denonville  a  Dongan,  20  Aoust,  1688 ;  Proces-verbal  of  the  Condition  of 


1688.]  DISTRESS  OF   CANADA.  167 

He  was  forced  to  another  and  a  deeper  humilia- 
tion. At  the  imperious  demand  of  Dongan  and 
the  Iroquois,  he  begged  the  king  to  send  back  the 
prisoners  entrapped  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  he 
wrote  to  the  minister  :  "  Be  pleased,  Monseigneur, 
to  remember  that  I  had  the  honor  to  tell  yon 
that,  in  order  to  attain  the  peace  necessary  to  the 
country,  I  was  obliged  to  promise  that  I  would  beg 
you  to  send  back  to  us  the  prisoners  I  sent  you 
last  year.  I  know  you  gave  orders  that  they  should 
be  well  treated,  but  I  am  informed  that,  though 
they  were  well  enough  treated  at  first,  your  orders 
were  not  afterwards  executed  with  the  same  fidelity. 
If  ill  treatment  has  caused  them  all  to  die,  —  for 
they  are  people  who  easily  fall  into  dejection,  and 
who  die  of  it,  —  and  if  none  of  them  come  back, 
I  do  not  know  at  all  whether  we  can  persuade 
these  barbarians  not  to  attack  us  again."  l 

What  had  brought  the  marquis  to  this  pass  ? 
Famine,  destitution,  disease,  and  the  Iroquois  were 
making  Canada  their  prey.  The  fur  trade  had 
been  stopped  for  two  years  ;  and  the  people,  bereft 
of  their  only  means  of  subsistence,  could  contrib- 
ute nothing  to  their  own  defence.  Above  Three 
Kivers,  the  whole  population  was  imprisoned  in 
stockade    forts    hastily  built  in   every   seigniory.2 

Fort  Niagara,  1688  ;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  386.  The  palisades  were  torn 
down  by  Denonville's  order  on  the  loth  of  September.  The  rude  dwell- 
ings and  storehouses  which  they  enclosed,  together  with  a  large  wooden 
cross,  were  left  standing.  The  commandant  De  Troyes  had  died,  and 
Captain  Desbergeres  had  been  sent  to  succeed  him. 

1  Denonville,  Memoire  du  10  Aoust,  1688. 

2  In  the  Depot  des  Cartes  de  la  Marine,  there  is  a  contemporary 
manuscript  map,  on  which  all  these  forts  are  laid  down. 


168  THE   IROQUOIS  INVASION. 


Here  they  were  safe,  provided  that  they  never 
ventured  out ;  but  their  fields  were  left  untillecl, 
and  the  governor  was  already  compelled  to  feed 
many  of  them  at  the  expense  of  the  king.  The 
Iroquois  roamed  among  the  deserted  settlements 
or  prowled  like  lynxes  about  the  forts,  waylaying 
convoys  and  killing  or  capturing  stragglers.  Their 
war-parties  were  usually  small ;  but  their  move- 
ments were  so  mysterious  and  their  attacks  so 
sudden,  that  they  spread  a  universal  panic  through 
the  upper  half  of  the  colony.  They  were  the 
wasps  which  Denonville  had  failed  to  kill. 

"  We  should  succumb,"  wrote  the  distressed  gov- 
ernor, "  if  our  cause  were  not  the  cause  of  Gocl. 
Your  Majesty's  zeal  for  religion,  and  the  great 
things  you  have  done  for  the  destruction  of 
heresy,  encourage  me  to  hope  that  you  will  be 
the  bulwark  of  the  Faith  in  the  new  world  as  you 
are  in  the  old.  I  cannot  give  you  a  truer  idea 
of  the  war  we  have  to  wage  with  the  Iroquois  than 
by  comparing  them  to  a  great  number  of  wolves 
or  other  ferocious  beasts,  issuing  out  of  a  vast  forest 
to  ravage  the  neighboring  settlements.  The  people 
gather  to  hunt  them  clown  ;  but  nobody  can  find 
their  lair,  for  they  are  always  in  motion.  An 
abler  man  than  I  would  be  greatly  at  a  loss  to 
manage  the  affairs  of  this  country.  It  is  for  the 
interest  of  the  colony  to  have  peace  at  any  cost 
whatever.  For  the  glory  of  the  king  and  the  good 
of  religion,  we  should  be  glad  to  have  it  an  advan- 
tageous one  :  and  so  it  would  have  been,  but  for  the 


1688.]  APPEAL  FOR  HELP.  169 

malice  of  the  English  and  the  protection  they  have 
given  our  enemies."  1 

And  yet  he  had,  one  would  think,  a  reasonable 
force  at  his  disposal.  His  thirty-two  companies  of 
regulars  were  reduced  by  this  time  to  about  four- 
teen hundred  men,  but  he  had  also  three  or  four 
hundred  Indian  converts,  besides  the  militia  of  the 
colony,  of  whom  he  had  stationed  a  large  body 
under  Vaudreuil  at  the  head  of  the  Island  of  Mon- 
treal. All  told,  they  were  several  times  more 
numerous  than  the  agile  warriors  who  held  the  col- 
ony in  terror.  He  asked  for  eight  hundred  more 
regulars.  The  king  sent  him  three  hundred.  Af- 
fairs grew  worse,  and  he  grew  desperate.  Rightly 
judging  that  the  best  means  of  defence  was  to 
take  the  offensive,  he  conceived  the  plan  of  a 
double  attack  on  the  Iroquois,  one  army  to  assail 
the  Onondagas  and  Cayugas,  another  the  Mo- 
hawks and  Oneidas.2  Since  to  reach  the  Mohawks 
as  he  proposed,  by  the  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  he 
must  pass  through  territory  indisputably  British, 
the  attempt  would  be  a  flagrant  violation  of  the 
treaty  of  neutrality.  Nevertheless,  he  implored 
the  king  to  send  him  four  thousand  soldiers  to 
accomplish  it.3  His  fast  friend,  the  bishop,  warmly 
seconded  his  appeal.  "  The  glory  of  God  is  in- 
volved," Avrote  the  head  of  the  church,  "  for  the 
Iroquois  are  the  only  tribe  who  oppose  the  progress 
of  the  gospel.     The  glory  of  the  king  is  involved, 

i  Denonville  au  Roy,  1688;  Ibid.,  Memoire  du  10  Aoust,  1688;  Ibid., 
Mtmoire  du  9  Nov.,  1688. 

2  Plan  for  the  Termination  of  the  Iroquois  War,N.  Y.  Col.  Docs. ,  IX.  375. 

3  Denonville,  Memoire  du  8  Aoust,  1688. 


170  THE  IROQUOIS   INVASION.  [1688. 

for  they  are  the  only  tribe  who  refuse  to  recognize 
his  grandeur  and  his  might.  They  hold  the  French 
in  the  deepest  contempt ;  and,  unless  they  are  com- 
pletely humbled  within  two  years,  his  Majesty  will 
have  no  colony  left  in  Canada."  *  And  the  prelate 
proceeds  to  tell  the  minister  how,  in  his  opinion, 
the  war  ought  to  be  conducted.  The  appeal 
was  vain.  "  His  Majesty  agrees  with  you,"  wrote 
Seignelay,  "  that  three  or  four  thousand  men 
would  be  the  best  means  of  making  peace,  but 
he  cannot  spare  them  now.  If  the  enemy  breaks 
out  again,  raise  the   inhabitants,  and   fight  as  well 

as  you  can  till  his  Majesty  is  prepared  to  send  you 

i  "5 

troops.    z 

A  hope  had  dawned  on  the  governor.  He  had 
been  more  active  of  late  in  negotiating  than  in 
fighting,  and  his  diplomacy  had  prospered  more 
than  his  arms.  It  may  be  remembered  that  some 
of  the  Iroquois  entrapped  at  Fort  Frontenac 
had  been  given  to  their  Christian  relatives  in  the 
mission  villages.  Here  they  had  since  remained. 
Denonville  thought  that  he  might  use  them  as 
messengers  to  their  heathen  countrymen,  and  he 
sent  one  or  more  of  them  to  Onondaga  with  gifts 
and  overtures  of  peace.  That  shrewd  old  politi- 
cian, Big  Mouth,  was  still  strong  in  influence  at 
the  Iroquois  capital,  and  his  name  was  great  to  the 
farthest  bounds  of  the  confederacy.  He  knew  by 
personal  experience  the  advantages  of  a  neutral 

1  Saint-Vallier,  Jfe'moire  sur  les  Affaires  du  Canada  pour  Monseigneur 
le  Marquis  de  Seignelay. 

2  Me'moire  du  Ministre  adressea  Denonville,  1  Mai,  1689. 


1688.]  IROQUOIS  DIPLOMACY.  171 

position  between  the  rival  European  powers,  from 
both  of  whom  he  received  gifts  and  attentions ;  and 
he  saw  that  what  was  good  for  him  was  good  for 
the  confederacy,  since,  if  it  gave  itself  to  neither 
party,  both  would  court  its  alliance.  In  his  opin- 
ion, it  had  now  leaned  long  enough  towards  the 
English ;  and  a  change  of  attitude  had  become  ex- 
pedient. Therefore,  as  Denonville  promised  the 
return  of  the  prisoners,  and  was  plainly  ready  to 
make  other  concessions,  Big  Mouth,  setting  at 
naught  the  prohibitions  of  Anclros,  consented  to  a 
conference  with  the  French.  He  set  out  at  his. 
leisure  for  Montreal,  with  six  Onondaga,  Cayuga, 
and  Oneida  chiefs ;  and,  as  no  diplomatist  ever  under- 
stood better  the  advantage  of  negotiating  at  the 
head  of  an  imposing  force,  a  body  of  Iroquois  war- 
riors, to  the  number,  it  is  said,  of  twelve  hundred, 
set  out  before  him,  and  silently  took  path  to 
Canada. 

The  ambassadors  paddled  across  the  lake  and 
presented  themselves  before  the  commandant  of 
Fort  Frontenac,  who  received  them  with  distinction, 
and  ordered  Lieutenant  Perelle  to  escort  them  to 
Montreal.  Scarcely  had  the  officer  conducted  his 
august  charge  five  leagues  on  their  way,  when,  to 
his  amazement,  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of 
six  hundred  Iroquois  warriors,  who  amused  them- 
selves for  a  time  with  his  terror,  and  then  accom- 
panied him  as  far  as  Lake  St.  Francis,  where  he 
found  another  body  of  savages  nearly  equal  in 
number.     Here  the  warriors  halted,  and  the  am- 


172  THE   IROQUOIS   INVASION.  [1688. 

bassadors  with  their  escort  gravely  pursued  their 
way  to  meet  Denonville   at  Montreal.1 

Big  Mouth  spoke  haughtily,  like  a  man  who  knew 
his  power.  He  told  the  governor  that  he  and  his 
people  were  subjects  neither  of  the  French  nor  of 
the  English ;  that  they  wished  to  be  friends  of 
both ;  that  they  held  their  country  of  the  Great 
Spirit ;  and  that  they  had  never  been  conquered 
in  war.  He  declared  that  the  Iroquois  knew  the 
weakness  of  the  French,  and  could  easily  extermi- 
nate them  ;  that  they  had  formed  a  plan  of  burn- 
ing all  the  houses  and  barns  of  Canada,  killing  the 
cattle,  setting  fire  to  the  ripe  grain,  and  then, 
when  the  people  were  starving,  attacking  the  forts ; 
but  that  he,  Big  Mouth,  had  prevented  its  execu- 
tion. He  concluded  by  saying  that  he  was  allowed 
but  four  days  to  bring  back  the  governor's  reply ; 
and  that,  if  he  were  kept  waiting  longer,  he  would 
not  answer  for  what  might  happen.2  Though  it 
appeared  by  some  expressions  in  his  speech  that  he 
was  ready  to  make  peace  only  with  the  French, 
leaving  the  Iroquois  free  to  attack  the  Indian 
allies  of  the  colony,  and  though,  while  the  am- 
bassadors were  at  Montreal,  their  warriors  on 
the  river  above  actually  killed  several  of  the  In- 
dian converts,  Denonville  felt  himself  compelled 
to  pretend  ignorance  of  the  outrage.3  A  declara- 
tion of  neutrality  was  drawn  up,  and  Big  Mouth 

1  Relation  des  Ece'nenxents  de  la  Guerre,  30  Oct.,  1688. 

2  Declaration  of  the  Iroquois  in  presence  of  M.  de  Denonville,  N.  Y.  Col. 
Docs.,  IX.  384  ;  Relation  des  Eve'nements  de  la  Guerre,  30  Oct.,  1688 ;  Bel- 
mont, Histoire  du  Canada. 

3  Cal/ieres  a  Seignelay,  Jan.,  1689. 


1688.]  A  HURON  MACCHIAVEL.  173 

affixed  to  it  the  figures  of  sundry  birds  and  beasts 
as  the  signatures  of  himself  and  his  fellow-chiefs.1 
He  promised,  too,  that  within  a  certain  time  depu- 
ties from  the  whole  confederacy  should  come  to 
Montreal  and  conclude  a  general  peace. 

The  time  arrived,  and  they  did  not  appear.  It 
became  known,  however,  that  a  number  of  chiefs 
were  coming  from  Onondaga  to  explain  the  delay, 
and  to  promise  that  the  deputies  should  soon  follow. 
The  chiefs  in  fact  were  on  their  way.  They 
reached  La  Famine,  the  scene  of  La  Barre's  meet- 
ing with  Big  Mouth ;  but  here  an  unexpected 
incident  arrested  them,  and  completely  changed 
the  aspect  of   affairs. 

Among  the  Hurons  of  Michillimackinac  there 
was  a  chief  of  high  renown  named  Koncliaronk,  or 
the  Rat.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life,  a  redoubted 
warrior,  and  a  sage  counsellor.  The  French  seem 
to  have  admired  him  greatly.  "  He  is  a  gallant 
man,"  says  La  Hon  tan,  "  if  ever  there  was  one  ;  " 
while  Charlevoix  declares  that  he  was  the  ablest 
Indian  the  French  ever  knew  in  America,  and  that 
he  had  nothing  of  the  savage  but  the  name  and  the 
dress.  In  spite  of  the  father's  eulogy,  the  moral 
condition  of  the  Rat  savored  strongly  of  the  wig- 
wam. He  had  given  Denonville  great  trouble  by 
his  constant  intrigues  with  the  Iroquois,  with  whom 
he  had  once  made  a  plot  for  the  massacre  of  his 
neighbors,  the  Ottawas,  under  cover  of  a  pretended 
treaty.2     The  French  had  spared  no  pains  to  gain 

1  See  the  signatures  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  385,  386. 
-  Nicolas  Perrot,  143. 


174  THE   IROQUOIS   INVASION.  [16S& 

him ;  and  he  had  at  length  been  induced  to  declare 
for  them,  under  a  pledge  from  the  governor  that 
the  war  should  never  cease  till  the  Iroquois  were 
destroyed.  During  the  summer,  he  raised  a  party 
of  forty  warriors,  and  came  clown  the  lakes  in 
quest  of  Iroquois  scalps.1  On  the  way,  he  stopped- 
at  Fort  Frontenac  to  hear  the  news,  when,  to  his 
amazement,  the  commandant  told  him  that  deputies 
from  Onondaga  were  coming  in  a  few  days  to  con- 
clude peace,  and  that  he  had  better  go  home  at 
once. 

"  It  is  well,"  replied  the  Rat. 

He  knew  that  for  the  Hurons  it  was  not  well. 
He  and  his  tribe  stood  fully  committed  to  the  war, 
and  for  them  peace  between  the  French  and  the 
Iroquois  would  be  a  signal  of  destruction,  since 
Denonville  could  not  or  would  not  protect  his  allies. 
The  Rat  paddled  off  with  his  warriors.  He  had 
secretly  learned  the  route  of  the  expected  deputies ; 
and  he  shaped  his  course,  not,  as  he  had  pretended, 
for  Michillimackinac,  but  for  La  Famine,  where  he 
knew  that  they  would  land.  Having  reached  his 
destination,  he  watched  and  waited  four  or  fi\e 
days,  till  canoes  at  length  appeared,  approaching 
from  the  direction  of  Onondaga.  On  this,  the  Rat 
and  his  friends  hid  themselves  in  the  bushes. 

The  new  comers  were  the  messengers  sent  as 
precursors  of  the  embassy.  At  their  head  was  a 
famous  personage  named  Decanisora,  or  Tegan- 
nisorens,  with  whom  were  three  other  chiefs,  and, 
it  seems,  a  number  of  warriors.    They  had  scarcely 

1  Denonvilh  a  Seignday,  9  Nov.,  1688.  La  Hontan  saw  the  party  set 
out,  and  says  that  there  were  about  a  hundred  of  them. 


1088.]  A  HURON  MACCHIAVEL.  175 

landed  when  the  ambushed  Hurons  gave  them  a 
volley  of  bullets,  killed  one  of  the  chiefs,  wounded 
all  the  rest,  and  then,  rushing  upon  them,  seized 
the  whole  party  except  a  warrior  who  escaped 
with  a  broken  arm.  Having  secured  his  prison- 
ers, the  Eat  told  them  that  he  had  acted  on 
the  suggestion  of  Denonville,  who  had  informed 
him  that  an  Iroquois  war-party  was  to  pass  that 
way.  The  astonished  captives  protested  that 
they  were  envoys  of  peace.  The  Rat  put  on 
a  look  of  amazement,  then  of  horror  and  fury, 
and  presently  burst  into  invectives  against  De- 
nonville for  having  made  him  the  instrument  of 
such  atrocious  perfidy.  "  Go,  my  brothers,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  go  home  to  your  people.  Though  there 
is  war  between  us,  I  give  you  your  liberty.  Onon- 
tio  has  made  me  do  so  black  a  deed  that  I  shall 
never  be  happy  again  till  your  five  tribes  take  a 
just  vengeance  upon  him."  After  giving  them 
guns,  powder,  and  ball,  he  sent  them  on  their  way, 
well  pleased  with  him  and  filled  with  rage  against 
the  governor. 

In  accordance  with  Indian  usage,  he,  however, 
kept  one  of  them  to  be  adopted,  as  he  declared,  in 
place  of  one  of  his  followers  whom  he  had  lost  in  the 
skirmish ;  then,  recrossing  the  lake,  he  went  alone 
to  Fort  Frontenac,  and,  as  he  left  the  gate  to  rejoin 
his  party,  he  said  coolly,  "  I  have  killed  the  peace : 
we  shall  see  how  the  governor  will  get  out  of  this 

1  "  II  (lit,  J'ai  tue  la  paix."  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada.  "  Le  Rat 
passa  ensuite  seul  a  Catarakouy  (Fort'  Frontenac)  sans  vouloir  dire  le 
tour  qu'il  avoit  fait,  dit  seulement  estant  hors  de  la  porte,  en  s'en  allant, 
Nous  verrons  comme  le  gouverneur  se  tirera  d'affaire."    Denonville. 


176  THE   IROQUOIS   INVASION.  [1688. 

business."  1  Then,  without  loss  of  time,  he  repaired 
to  Michillimackinac,  and  gave  his  Iroquois  prisoner 
to  the  officer  in  command.  No  news  of  the  in- 
tended peace  had  yet  reached  that  distant  outpost ; 
and,  though  the  unfortunate  Iroquois  told  the  story 
of  his  mission  and  his  capture,  the  Eat  declared 
that  it  was  a  crazy  invention  inspired  by  the  fear 
of  death,  and  the  prisoner  was  immediately  shot  by 
a  file  of  soldiers.  The  Rat  now  sent  for  an  old 
Iroquois  who  had  long  been  a  prisoner  at  the 
Huron  village,  telling*  him  with  a  mournful  air 
that  he  was  free  to  return  to  his  people,  and  re- 
count the  cruelty  of  the  French,  who,  had  put  their 
countryman  to  death.  The  liberated  Iroquois  faith- 
fully acquitted  himself  of  his  mission.1 

One  incident  seemed  for  a  moment  likely  to  rob 
the  intriguer  of  the  fruits  of  his  ingenuity.  The 
Iroquois  who  had  escaped  in  the  skirmish  contrived 
to  reach  Fort  Frontenac  some  time  after  the  last 
visit  of  the  Rat.  He  told  what  had  happened  ;  and, 
after  being  treated  with  the  utmost  attention,  he 
was  sent  to  Onondaga,  charged  with  explanations 
and  regrets.  The  Iroquois  dignitaries  seemed  satis- 
fied,  and  Denonville   wrote   to   the   minister  that 

1  La  Hontan,  1. 189  (1709).  Most  of  the  details  of  the  story  are  drawn 
from  this  writer,  whose  statement  I  have  compared  with  that  of  Denon- 
ville, in  his  letter  dated  Nov.  9,  1688  ;  of  Callieres,  Jan.,  1689  ;  of  the  Ab- 
stract  of  Letters  from  Canada,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  393;  and  of  the 
writer  of  Relation  des  Eve'nements  de  la  Guerre,  30  Oct.,  1688.  Belmont 
notices  the  affair  with  his  usual  conciseness.  La  Hontan's  account  is 
sustained  by  the  others  in  most,  though  not  in  all  of  its  essential  points. 
He  calls  the  Huron  chief  Adario,  on  le  Bat.  He  is  elsewhere  mentioned 
as  Kondiaronk,  Kondiaront,  Soiioias,  and  Soiia'iti.  La  Hontan  says  that 
the  scene  of  the  treachery  was  one  of  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
but  more  authentic  accounts  place  it  at  La  Famine. 


1689.]  A   CRITICAL   SITUATION.  177 

there  was  still  good  hope  of  peace.  He  little  knew 
his  enemy.  They  conld  dissemble  and  wait ;  but 
they  neither  believed  the  governor  nor  forgave 
him.  His  supposed  treachery  at  La  Famine,  and 
his  real  treachery  at  Fort  Frontenac,  filled  them 
with  a  patient  but  unextinguishable  rage.  They 
sent  him  word  that  they  were  ready  to  renew  the 
negotiation ;  then  they  sent  again,  to  say  that 
Andros  forbade  them.  Without  doubt  they  used 
his  prohibition  as  a  pretext.  Months  passed,  and 
Denonville  remained  in  suspense.  He  did  not  trust 
his  Indian  allies,  nor  did  they  trust  him.  Like  the 
Eat  and  his  Hurons,  they  dreaded  the  conclusion 
of  peace,  and  wished  the  war  to-  continue,  that  the 
French  might  bear  the  brunt  of  it,  and  stand  be- 
tween them  and  the  wrath  of  the  Iroquois.1 

In  the  direction  of  the  Iroquois,  there  was  a  long 
and  ominous  silence.  It  was  broken  at  last  by  the 
crash  of  a  thunderbolt.  On  the  night  between 
the  fourth  and  fifth  of  August,  a  violent  hail-storm 
burst  over  Lake  St.  Louis,  an  expansion  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  a  little  above  Montreal.  Concealed  by 
the  tempest  and  the  darkness,  fifteen  hundred  war- 
riors landed  at  La  Chine,  and  silently  posted  them- 
selves about  the  houses  of  the  sleeping  settlers, 
then  screeched  the  war-whoop,  and  began  the 
most  frightful  massacre  in  Canadian  history.  The 
houses  were  burned,  and  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren indiscriminately  butchered.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood were  three  stockade  forts,  called  Remy, 
Roland,  and  La    Presentation ;    and   they  all  had 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  9  Nov.,  1688. 
12 


178  THE   IROQUOIS   INVASION.  [1689. 

garrisons.  There  was  also  an  encampment  of  two 
hundred  regulars  about  three  miles  distant,  under 
an  officer  named  Subercase,  then  absent  at  Mon- 
treal on  a  visit  to  Denonville,  who  had  lately 
arrived  with  his  wife  and  family.  At  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  troops  in  this  encampment 
heard  a  cannon-shot  from  one  of  the  forts.  They 
were  at  once  ordered  under  arms.  Soon  after,  they 
saw  a  man  running  towards  them,  just  escaped 
from  the  butchery.  He  told  his  story,  and  passed 
on  with  the  news  to  Montreal,  six  miles  distant. 
Then  several  fugitives  appeared,  chased  by  a  band 
of  Iroquois,  who  gave  over  the  pursuit  at  sight  of  the 
soldiers,  but  pillaged  several  houses  before  their 
eyes.  The  day  was  well  advanced  before  Suber- 
case  arrived.  He  ordered  the  troops  to  march. 
About  a  hundred  armed  inhabitants  had  joined 
them,  and  they  moved  together  towards  La  Chine. 
Here  they  found  the  houses  still  burning,  and  the 
bodies  of  their  inmates  strewn  among  them  or 
hanging  from  the  stakes  where  they  had  been 
tortured.  They  learned  from  a  French  surgeon, 
escaped  from  the  enemy,  that  the  Iroquois  were  all 
encamped  a  mile  and  a  half  farther  on,  behind  a 
tract  of  forest.  Subercase,  whose  force  had  been 
strengthened  by  troops  from  the  forts,  resolved  to 
attack  them ;  and,  had  he  been  allowed  to  do  so, 
he  would  probably  have  punished  them  severely,  for 
most  of  them  were  helplessly  drunk  with  brandy 
taken  from  the  houses  of  the  traders.  Sword  in  hand, 
at  the  head  of  his  men,  the  daring  officer  entered  the 
forest ;  but,  at  that  moment,  a  voice  from  the  rear 


1689.]  TERROR   AT   MONTREAL.  179 

commanded  a  halt.  It  was  that  of  the  Chevalier 
de  Vaudreuil,  just  come  from  Montreal,  with  positive 
orders  from  Denonville  to  run  no  risks  and  stand 
solely  on  the  defensive.  Subercase  was  furious. 
High  words  passed  between  him  and  Vaudreuil, 
but  he  was  forced  to  obey. 

The  troops  were  led  back  to  Fort  Roland,  where 
about  five  hundred  regulars  and  militia  were  now 
collected  under  command  of  Vaudreuil.  On  the 
next  day,  eighty  men  from  Fort  Remy  attempted 
to  join  them ;  but  the  Iroquois  had  slept  off  the 
effect  of  their  orgies,  and  were  again  on  the  alert. 
The  unfortunate  detachment  was  set  upon  by  a 
host  of  savages,  and  cut  to  pieces  in  full  sight  of 
Fort  Roland.  All  were  killed  or  captured,  except 
Le  Moyne  de  Longueuil,  and  a  few  others,  who 
escaped  within  the  gate  of  Fort  Remy.J 

Montreal  was  wild  with  terror.  It  had  been 
fortified  with  palisades  since  the  war  began ;  but, 
though  there  were  troops  in  the  town  under  the 
governor  himself,  the  people  were  in  mortal  dread. 
No  attack  was  made  either  on  the  town  or  on  any 
of  the  forts,  and  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  could 
reach  them  were  safe  ;  while  the  Iroquois  held 
undisputed  possession  of  the  open  country,  burned 
all  the  houses  and  barns  over  an  extent  of  nine 
miles,  and  roamed  in  small  parties,  pillaging  and 
scalping,  over  more  than  twenty  miles.     There  is 

1  Recneil  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe"  en  Canada  depnis  Vann€e  1682  ;  Observa- 
tions on  the  State  of  Affairs  in  Canada,  1689,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  431  ; 
Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada;  Frontenacau  Ministre,  15  Nov.,  1689.  This 
detachment  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  de  la  Rabeyre,  and  con- 
sisted of  fifty  French  and  thirty  Indian  converts. 


180  THE   IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1689. 

no  mention  of  their  having  encountered  opposition  ; 
nor  do  they  seem  to  have  met  with  any  loss  but 
that  of  some  warriors  killed  in  the  attack  on  the 
detachment  from  Fort  Remy,  and  that  of  three 
drunken  stragglers  who  were  caught  and  thrown 
into  a  cellar  in  Fort  La  Presentation.  When  they 
came  to  their  senses,  they  defied  their  captors,  and 
fought  with  such  ferocity  that  it  was  necessary  to 
shoot  them.  Charlevoix  says  that  the  invaders 
remained  in  the  neighborhood  of  Montreal  till 
the  middle  of  October,  or  more  than  two  months  ; 
but  this  seems  incredible,  since  troops  and  militia 
enough  to  drive  them  all  into  the  St.  Lawrence 
might  easily  have  been  collected  in  less  than  a 
week.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  their  stay  was 
strangely  long.  Troops  and  inhabitants  seem  to 
have  been  paralyzed  with  fear. 

At  length,  most  of  them  took  to  their  canoes, 
and  recrossecl  Lake  St.  Louis  in  a  body,  giving 
ninety  yells  to  show  that  they  had  ninety  prisoners 
in  their  clutches.  This  was  not  all ;  for  the  whole 
number  carried  off  was  more  than  a  hundred  and 
twenty,  besides  about  two  hundred  who  had  the 
good  fortune  to  be  killed  on  the  spot.  As  the 
Iroquois  passed  the  forts,  they  shouted,  "  Onontio, 
you  deceived  us,  and  now  we  have  deceived 
you."  Towards  evening,  they  encamped  on  the 
farther  side  of  the  lake,  and  began  to  torture  and 
devour  their  prisoners.  On  that  miserable  night, 
stupefied  and  speechless  groups  stood  gazing  from 
the  strand  of  La  Chine  at  the  lights  that  gleamed 
along  the  distant  shore  of  Chateaugay,  where  their 


1689.]  FEROCITY  OF   THE    VICTORS.  181 

friends,  wives,  parents,  or  children  agonized  in  the 
fires  of  the  Iroquois,  and  scenes  were  enacted  of 
indescribable  and  nameless  horror.  The  greater 
part  of  the  prisoners  were,  however,  reserved  to 
be  distributed  among  the  towns  of  the  confederacy, 
and  there  tortured  for  the  diversion  of  the  inhab- 
itants. While  some  of  the  invaders  went  home  to 
celebrate  their  triumph,  others  roamed  in  small 
parties  through  all  the  upper  parts  of  the  colony, 
spreading  universal  terror.1 

Canada  lay  bewildered  and  benumbed  under 
the  shock  of  this  calamity ;  but  the  cup  of  her 
misery  was    not    full.     There   was   revolution   in 

1  The  best  account  of  the  descent  of  the  Iroquois  at  La  Chine  is  that  of 
the  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  en  Canada,  1682-1712.  The  writer  was  an 
officer  under  Subercase,  and  was  on  the  spot.  Belmont,  superior  of  the 
mission  of  Montreal,  also  gives  a  trustworthy  account  in  his  Histoire  da 
Canada.  Compare  La  Hon  tan,  I.  193  (1709),  and  La  Potherie,  II.  229. 
Farther  particulars  are  given  in  the  letters  of  Callieres,  8  Nov. ;  Cham- 
pigny,  16  Nov.;  and  Frontenac,  15  Nov.  Frontenac,  after  visiting  the 
scene  of  the  catastrophe  a  few  weeks  after  it  occurred,  writes  :  "  lis 
(les  Iroquois)  avoient  brusle  plus  de  trois  lieues  de  pays,  saccage 
toutes  les  maisons  jusqu'aux  portes  de  la  ville,  enleve  plus  de  six  vingt 
personnes,  tant  homrnes,  femmes,  qu'enfants,  apres  avoir  massacre  plus 
de  deux  cents  dont  ils  avoient  casse  la  teste  aux  uns,  brusle,  rosty,  et 
mange  les  autres,  ouvert  le  ventre  des  femmes  grosses  pour  en  arraclier 
les  enfants,  et  fait  des  cruautez  inou'ies  et  sans  exemple."  The  details 
given  by  Belmont,  and  by  the  author  of  Histoire  de  VEau  de  Vie  en  Ca- 
nada, are  no  less  revolting.  The  last-mentioned  writer  thinks  that  the 
massacre  was  a  judgment  of  God  upon  the  sale  of  brandy  at  La  Chine. 

Some  Canadian  writers  have  charged  the  English  with  instigating 
the  massacre.  I  find  nothing  in  contemporary  documents  to  support  the 
accusation.  Denonville  wrote  to  the  minister,  after  the  Rat's  treachery 
came  to  light,  that  Andros  had  forbidden  the  Iroquois  to  attack  the  colony. 
Immediately  after  the  attack  at  La  Chine,  the  Iroquois  sachems,  in  a 
conference  with  the  agents  of  New  England,  declared  that  "  we  did  not 
make  war  on  the  French  at  the  persuasion  of  our  brethren  at  Albany  ; 
for  we  did  not  so  much  as  acquaint  them  of  our  intention  till  fourteen 
days  after  our  army  had  begun  their  march."  Report  of  Conference  in 
Colden,  103. 


182  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1689. 

England.  James  II.,  the  friend  and  ally  of  France, 
had  been  driven  from  his  kingdom,  and  William  of 
Orange  had  seized  his  vacant  throne.  Soon  there 
came  news  of  war  between  the  two  crowns.  The 
Iroquois  alone  had  brought  the  colony  to  the  brink 
of  ruin ;  and  now  they  would  be  supported  by 
the  neighboring  British  colonies,  rich,  strong,  and 
populous,  compared  to  impoverished  and  depleted 
Canada. 

A  letter  of  recall  for  Denonville  was  already  on 
its  way.1  His  successor  arrived  in  October,  and  the 
marquis  sailed  for  France.  He  was  a  good  soldier 
in  a  regular  war,  and  a  subordinate  command ; 
and  he  had  some  of  the  qualities  of  a  good  gover- 
nor, while  lacking  others  quite  as  essential.  He 
had  more  activity  than  vigor,  more  personal  bravery 
than  firmness,  and  more  clearness  of  perception 
than  executive  power.  He  filled  his  despatches 
with  excellent  recommendations,  but  was  not  the 
man  to  carry  them  into  effect.  He  was  sensitive, 
fastidious,  critical,  and  conventional,  and  plumed 
himself  on  his  honor,  which  was  not  always  able  to 
bear  a  strain ;  though  as  regards  illegal  trade,  the 
besetting  sin  of  Canadian  governors,  his  hands  were 
undoubtedly  clean.2     It   is    said  that   he    had    an 

i  Le  Roy  a  Denonville,  31  Mai,  1689. 

2  "I  shall  only  add  one  article,  on  which  possihly  you  will  find  it 
strange  that  I  have  said  nothing ;  namely,  whether  the  governor  carries 
on  any  trade.  I  shall  answer,  no  ;  hut  my  Lady  the  Governess  {Madame  la 
Gouvernante),  who  is  disposed  not  to  neglect  any  opportunity  for  making 
a  profit,  had  a  room,  not  to  say  a  shop,  full  of  goods,  till  the  close  of  last 
winter,  in  the  chateau  of  Quehec,  and  found  means  afterwards  to  make  a 
lottery  to  get  rid  of  the  ruhbish  that  remained,  which  produced  her  more 
than  her  good  merchandise."  Relation  of  the  State  of  Affairs  in  Canada, 
1688,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  388.     This  paper  was  written  at  Quebec. 


1689.]  CHARACTER  OF  DENONVILLE.  183 

instinctive  antipathy  for  Indians,  snch  as  some  per- 
sons have  for  certain  animals  ;  and  the  coureurs 
de  hois,  and  other  lawless  classes  of  the  Canadian 
population,  appeared  to  please  him  no  better. 
Their  license  and  insubordination  distressed  him, 
and  he  constantly  complained  of  them  to  the 
king.  For  the  Church  and  its  hierarchy  his  de- 
votion was  unbounded  :  and  his  government  was 
a  season  of  unwonted  sunshine  for  the  ecclesi- 
astics, like  the  balmy  clays  of  the  Indian  summer 
amid  the  gusts  of  November.  They  exhausted 
themselves  in  eulogies  of  his  piety ;  and,  in  proof 
of  its  depth  and  solidity,  Mother  Juchereau  tells 
us  that  he  clicl  not  regard  station  and  rank  as 
very  useful  aids  to  salvation.  While  other  gover- 
nors complained  of  too  many  priests,  Denonville 
begged  for  more.  All  was  harmony  between  him 
and  Bishop  Saint-Vallier ;  and  the  prelate  was  con- 
stantly his  friend,  even  to  the  point  of  justifying  his 
worst  act,  the  treacherous  seizure  of  the  Iroquois 
neutrals.1  When  he  left  Canada,  the  only  mourner 
besides  the  churchmen  was  his  colleague,  the  in- 
tendant  Cbampigny ;  for  the  two  chiefs  of  the 
colony,  joined  in  a  common  union  with  the  Jesuits, 
lived  together  in  unexampled  concord.  On  his 
arrival  at  court,  the  good  offices  of  his  clerical 
allies  gained  for  him  the  highly  honorable  post  of 
governor  of  the  royal  children,  the  young  Dukes 
of  Burgundy,  Anjou,  and  Berri. 

1  Saint-Vallier,  Etat  Present,  91,  92  (Quebec,  1856). 


CHAPTER  X. 

1689,  1690. 
RETURN   OF   FRONTENAC. 

Versailles.  —  Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontenac  sails  for 
Quebec.  —  Projected  Conquest  of  New  York.  —  Designs  of 
the  King.  —  Failure. — Energy  of  Frontenac. — Fort  Fron- 
tenac.—  Panic.  —  Negotiations.  —  The  Iroquois  in  Council. 
—  Chevalier  d'Aux.  —  Taunts  of  the  Indian  Allies.  —  Bold- 
ness of  Frontenac.  —  An  Iroquois  Defeat.  —  Cruel  Policy.  — 
The  Stroke  parried. 

The  sun  of  Louis  XIV.  had  reached  its  zenith. 
From  a  morning  of  unexampled  brilliancy  it  had 
mounted  to  the  glare  of  a  cloudless  noon  ;  but  the 
hour  of  its  decline  was  near.  The  mortal  enemv 
of  France  was  on  the  throne  of  England,  turning 
against  her  from  that  new  point  of  vantage  all  the 
energies  of  his  unconquerable  genius.  An  invalid 
built  the  Bourbon  monarchy,  and  another  invalid 
battered  and  defaced  the  imposing  structure :  two 
potent  and  daring  spirits  in  two  frail  bodies,  Riche- 
lieu and  William  of  Orange. 

Versailles  gave  no  sign  of  waning  glories.  On 
three  evenings  of  the  week,  it  was  the  pleasure  of 
the  king  that  the  whole  court  should  assemble  in 
the  vast  suite  of  apartments  now  known  as  the 
Halls  of  Abundance,  of  Venus,  of  Diana,  of  Mars, 


1689.]  VERSAILLES.  185 

of  Mercury,  and  of  Apollo.  The  magnificence  of 
their  decorations,  pictures  of  the  great  Italian 
masters,  sculptures,  frescoes,  mosaics,  tapestries, 
vases  and  statues  of  silver  and  gold ;  the  vista 
of  light  and  splendor  that  opened  through  the 
wide  portals  ;  the  courtly  throngs,  feasting,  danc- 
ing, gaming,  promenading,  conversing,  formed  a 
scene  which  no  palace  of  Europe  could  rival  or 
approach.  Here  were  all  the  great  historic  names 
of  France,  princes,  warriors,  statesmen,  and  all 
that  was  highest  in  rank  and  place  ;  the  flower,  in 
short,  of  that  brilliant  society,  so  dazzling,  capti- 
vating, and  illusory.  In  former  years,  the  king 
was  usually  present,  affable  and  gracious,  mingling 
with  his  courtiers  and  sharing  their  amusements ; 
but  he  had  grown  graver  of  late,  and  was  more 
often  in  his  cabinet,  laboring  with  his  ministers  on 
the  task  of  administration,  which  his  extravagance 
and  ambition  made  every  day  more  burdensome.1 

There  was  one  corner  of  the  world  where  his 
emblem,  the  sun,  would  not  shine  on  him.  He 
had  done  his  best  for  Canada,  and  had  got  nothing 
for  his  pains  but  news  of  mishaps  and  troubles.  He 
was  growing  tired  of  the  colony  which  he  had  nursed 
with  paternal  fondness,  and  he  was  more  than  half 
angry  with  it  because  it  did  not  prosper.  Denon- 
ville's  letters  had   grown  worse  and  worse ;  and, 

1  Saint-Simon  speaks  of  these  assemblies.  The  halls  in  question 
were  finished  in  1682;  and  a  minute  account  of  them,  and  of  the  par- 
ticular use  to  which  each  was  destined,  was  printed  in  the  Mercure  Fran- 
gais  of  that  year.  See  also  Soulie,  Notice  du  Mustfe  imperial  de  Versailles, 
where  copious  extracts  from  the  Mercure  are  given.  The  grands  apparte- 
ments  are  now  entirely  changed  in  appearance,  and  turned  into  an  historic 
picture  gallery. 


186  RETURN   OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

though  he  had  not  heard  as  yet  of  the  last  great 
calamity,  he  was  sated  with  ill  tidings  already. 

Count  Frontenac  stood  before  him.  Since  his 
recall,  he  had  lived  at  court,  needy  and  no  longer 
in  favor;  but  he  had  influential  friends,  and  an 
intriguing  wife,  always  ready  to  serve  him.  The 
king  knew  his  merits  as  well  as  his  faults ;  and,  in 
the  desperate  state  of  his  Canadian  affairs,  he  had 
been  led  to  the  resolution  of  restoring  him  to  the 
command  from  which,  for  excellent  reasons,  he 
had  removed  him  seven  years  before.  He  now 
told  him  that,  in  his  belief,  the  charges  brought 
against  him  were  without  foundation.1  "  I  send 
you  back  to  Canada,"  he  is  reported  to  have  said, 
"  where  I  am  sure  that  you  will  serve  me  as  well 
as  you  did  before ;  and  I  ask  nothing  more  of 
3'ou." 2  The  post  was  not  a  tempting  one  to  a 
man  in  his  seventieth  year.  Alone  and  unsup- 
ported,—  for  the  king,  with  Europe  rising  against 
him,  would  give  him  no  more  troops,  —  he  was  to 
restore  the  prostrate  colony  to  hope  and  courage, 
and  fight  two  enemies  with  a  force  that  had  proved 
no  match  for  one  of  them  alone.  The  audacious 
count  trusted  himself,  and  undertook  the  task ;  re- 
ceived the  royal  instructions,  and  took  his  last 
leave  of  the  master  whom  even  he  after  a  fashion 
honored  and  admired. 

He  repaired  to  Rochelle,  where  two  ships  of  the 
royal  navy  were  waiting  his  arrival,  embarked  in 

1  Journal  cle  Dangeau,  II.  390.  Frontenac,  since  his  recall,  had  not 
been  wholly  without  marks  of  royal  favor.  In  1G85,  the  king  gave  him 
a  "  gratification  "  of  3,500  francs.     Ibid.,  I.  205. 

-  Goyer,  Oraison  Funebre  da  Comte  de  Frontenac, 


1689.]  CONQUEST   OF  NEW  YORK.  187 

one  of  them,  and  sailed  for  the  New  World.  An 
heroic  remedy  had  been  prepared  for  the  sickness 
of  Canada,  and  Frontenac  was  to  be  the  surgeon. 
The  cure,  however,  was  not  of  his  contriving. 
Denonville  had  sent  Callieres,  his  second  in  com- 
mand, to  represent  the  state  of  the  colony  to  the 
court,  and  beg  for  help.  Callieres  saw  that  there 
wras  little  hope  of  more  troops  or  any  considerable 
supply  of  money ;  and  he  laid  before  the  king  a 
plan,  which  had  at  least  the  recommendations  of 
boldness  and  cheapness.  This  was  to  conquer 
New  York  with  the  forces  already  in  Canada,  aided 
only  by  two  ships  of  war.  The  blow,  he  argued, 
should  be  struck  at  once,  and  the  English  taken  by 
surprise.  A  thousand  regulars  and  six  hundred 
Canadian  militia  should  pass  Lake  Champlain  and 
Lake  George  in  canoes  and  bateaux,  cross  to  the 
Hudson  and  capture  Albany,  where  they  would  seize 
all  the  river  craft  and  descend  the  Hudson  to  the 
town  of  New  York,  which,  as  Callieres  stated,  had 
then  about  two  hundred  houses  and  four  hundred 
lighting  men.  The  two  ships  were  to  cruise  at 
the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  wait  the  arrival  of 
the  troops,  which  was  to  be  made  known  to  them 
by  concerted  signals,  whereupon  they  were  to 
enter  and  aid  in  the  attack.  The  whole  expedition, 
he  thought,  might  be  accomplished  in  a  month ; 
so  that  by  the  end  of  October  the  king  would  be 
master  of  all  the  country.  The  advantages  were 
manifold.  The  Iroquois,  deprived  of  English 
arms  and  ammunition,  would  be  at  the  mercy  of 
the  French ;  the  question  of  English  rivalry  in  the 


1S8  RETURN   OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

west  would  be  settled  for  ever ;  the  king  would  ac- 
quire a  means  of  access  to  his  colony  incomparably 
better  than  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  one  that  re- 
mained open  all  the  year ;  and,  finally,  New  Eng- 
land would  be  isolated,  and  prepared  for  a  possible 
conquest  in  the  future. 

The  king  accepted  the  plan  with  modifications, 
which  complicated  and  did  not  improve  it.  Ex- 
treme precautions  were  taken  to  insure  secrecy  ;  but 
the  vast  distances,  the  difficult  navigation,  and  the 
accidents  of  weather  appear  to  have  been  forgotten 
in  this  amended  scheme  of  operation.  There  was, 
moreover,  a  long  delay  in  fitting  the  two  ships  for 
sea.  The  wind  was  ahead,  and  they  were  fifty-two 
days  in  reaching  Checlabucto,  at  the  eastern  end  of 
Nova  Scotia.  Thence  Frontenac  and  Callieres  had 
orders  to  proceed  in  a  merchant  ship  to  Quebec, 
which  might  require  a  month  more  ;  and,  on  arriv- 
ing, they  were  to  prepare  for  the  expedition, 
while  at  the  same  time  Frontenac  was  to  send 
back  a  letter  to  the  naval  commander  at  Checla- 
bucto, revealing  the  plan  to  him,  and  ordering 
him  to  sail  to  New  York  to  co-operate  in  it.  It 
was  the  twelfth  of  September  when  Chedabucto 
was  reached,  and  the  enterprise  was  ruined  by  the 
delay.  Frontenac's  first  step  in  his  new  govern- 
ment was  a  failure,  though  one  for  which  he  was 
in  no  way  answerable.1 

1  Projet  du  Chevalier  cle  Callieres  cle  former  line  Expedition  pour  aller 
attaquer  Orange,  Manatte,  etc.  ;  Re'sume  du  Ministre  sur  la  Proposition  de 
M.  de  Callieres;  Autre  Me'moire  de  M.  de  Callieres  sur  son  Projet  d' attaquer 
la  Nouvelle  York;  Me'moire  d>s  Amies,  Munitions,  et  Ustensiles  ne'ressaires 
pour  I'Entreprise  propose'e  par  M.  de  Callieres;  Observations  du  Ministre  sur 


1689.]  DESIGNS  OF  THE   KING.  189 

It  will  be  well  to  observe  what  were  the  inten- 
tions of  the  king  towards  the  colony  which  he  pro- 
posed to  conquer.  They  were  as  follows  :  If  any 
Catholics  were  found  in  New  York,  they  might  be 
left  undisturbed,  provided  that  they  took  an  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  king.  Officers,  and  other  per- 
sons who  had  the  means  of  paying  ransoms,  were 
to  be  thrown  into  prison.  All  lands  in  the  colony, 
except  those  of  Catholics  swearing  allegiance,  were 
to  be  taken  from  their  owners,  and  granted  under 
a  feudal  tenure  to  the  French  officers  and  soldiers. 
All  property,  public  or  private,  was  to  be  seized,  a 
portion  of  it  given  to  the  grantees  of  the  land,  and 
the  rest  sold  on  account  of  the  king.  Mechanics 
and  other  workmen  might,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
commanding  officer,  be  kept  as  prisoners  to  work 
at  fortifications  and  do  other  labor.  The  rest  of 
the  English  and  Dutch  inhabitants,  men,  women, 
and  children,  were  to  be  carried  out  of  the  colony 
and  dispersed  in  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  or 
other  places,  in  such  a  manner  that  they  could  not 
combine  in  any  attempt  to  recover  their  property 
and  their  country.  And,  that  the  conquest  might 
be  perfectly  secure,  the  nearest  settlements  of  New 
England  were  to  be  destroyed,  and  those  more  re- 
mote laid  under  contribution.1 

le  Projet  et  le  Me'moire  ci-dessus ;  Observations  du  Ministre  sur  le  Projet 
d'Attaquede  la  Nouvelle  York;  Autre  Me'moire  de  M.  de  Callieres  au  Sujet 
de  I'Entreprise  propose'e ;  Autre  Me'moire  de  M.  de  Callieres  sur  le  mime 
Sujet. 

1  Me'moire  pour  servir  d' Instruction  a  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac 
sur  VEntreprise  de  la  Nouvelle  York,  7  Juin,  1689.  "  Si  parmy  les  habitans 
de  la  Nouvelle  York  il  se  trouve  des  Catholiques  de  la  fidelite  desqnels  il 
croye  se  pouvoir  asseurer,  il  pourra  les  laisser  dans  leurs  habitations 
apres  leur  avoir  fait  prester  serment  de  fidelite  a  sa   Majeste'.  ...  II 


190  RETURN   OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

In  the  next  century,  some  of  the  people  of  Acadia 
were  torn  from  their  homes  by  order  of  a  British 
commander.  The  act  was  harsh  and  violent,  and 
the  innocent  were  involved  with  the  guilty ;  but 
many  of  the  sufferers  had  provoked  their  fate,  and 
deserved  it. 

Louis  XIY.  commanded  that  eighteen  thousand 
unoffending  persons  should  be  stripped  of  all  that 
they  possessed,  and  cast  out  to  the  mercy  of  the 
wilderness.  The  atrocity  of  the  plan  is  matched 
by  its  folly.  The  king  gave  explicit  orders,  but  he 
gave  neither  ships  nor  men  enough  to  accomplish 
them;  and  the  Dutch  farmers,  goaded  to  despera- 
tion, would  have  cut  his  sixteen  hundred  soldiers 
to  pieces.  It  was  the  scheme  of  a  man  blinded  by 
a  long  course  of  success.  Though  perverted  by 
flattery  and  hardened  by  unbridled  power,  he  was 
not  cruel  by  nature ;  and  here,  as  in  the  burning  of 
the  Palatinate  and  the  persecution  of  the  Hugue- 
nots, he  would  have  stood  aghast,  if  his  dull  imagi- 
nation could  have  pictured  to  him  the  miseries  he 
was  preparing  to  inflict.2 

pourra  aussi  garder,  s'il  le  juge  a  propos,  des  artisans  et  autres  gens  de 
service  neeessaires  pour  la  culture  des  terres  ou  pour  travailler  aux  forti- 
fications en  qualite  de  prisonniers.  ...  II  faut  retenir  en  prison  les 
officiers  et  les  principaux  habitans  desquels  on  pourra  retirer  des  ran- 
90ns.  A  l'esgard  de  tous  les  autres  estrangers  (ceux  qui  ne  sont  pas  Fran- 
cais)  liommes,  femraes,  et  enfans,  sa  Majeste  trouve  a  propos  qu'ils  soient 
mis  hors  de  la  Colonie  et  envoyez  a  la  Xouvelle  Angleterre,  a  la  Pennsyl- 
vanie,  ou  en  d'autres  endroits  qu'il  jugera  a  propos,  par  mer  ou  parterre, 
ensemble  ou  separe'ment,  le  tout  suivant  qu'il  trouvera  plus  seur  pour  les 
dissiper  et  empescher  qu'en  se  reunissant  ils  ne  puissent  donner  occasion 
a  des  entreprises  de  la  part  des  ennemis  contre  cette  Colonie.  II  envoy- 
era  en  France  les  Francais  fugitifs  qu'il  y  pourra  trouver,  et  particnliere- 
ment  ceux  de  la  Religion  Pretendue-Reformee  (Hiir/uenots)."  A  transla- 
tion of  the  entire  document  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs  ,  IX.  422. 
2  On  the  details  of  the  projected   attack  of   New  York,   Le  Roy  a 


1689.]  HIS   ARRIVAL.  191 

With  little  hope  left  that  the  grand  enterprise 
against  New  York  conlcl  succeed,  Frontenac  made 
sail  for  Quebec,  and,  stopping  by  the  way  at  Isle 
Percee,  learned  from  Eecollet  missionaries  the  irrup- 
tion of  the  Iroquois  at  Montreal.  He  hastened  on ; 
but  the  wind  was  still  against  him,  and  the  autumn 
woods  wrere  turning  brown  before  he  reached  his 
destination.  It  was  evening  when  he  landed,  amid 
fireworks,  illuminations,  and  the  firing  of  cannon. 
All  Quebec  came  to  meet  him  by  torchlight ;  the 
members  of  the  council  offered  their  respects,  and 
the  Jesuits  made  him  an  harangue  of  welcome.1  It 
was  but  a  welcome  of  words.  They  and  the  council- 
lors had  done  their  best  to  have  him  recalled,  and 
hoped  that  they  were  rid  of  him  for  ever  ;  but  now 
he  was  among  them  again,  rasped  by  the  memory 
of  real  or  fancied  wrongs.  The  count,  however, 
had  no  time  for  quarrelling.  The  king  had  told 
him  to  bury  old  animosities  and  forget  the  past, 
and  for  the  present  he  was  too  busy  to  break  the 
royal  injunction.2  He  caused  boats  to  be  made 
ready,  and  in  spite  of  incessant  rains  pushed  up 
the  river  to  Montreal.  Here  he  found  Denonville 
and  his  frightened  wife.  Every  thing  was  in  con- 
fusion. The  Iroquois  were  gone,  leaving  dejection 
and  terror  behind  them.  Frontenac  reviewed  the 
troops.  There  were  seven  or  eight  hundred  of 
them  in  the  town,  the  rest  being  in  garrison  at  the 

Denonville,  7  Jiu'n,  1689;  Le  Ministre  a  Denonville,  meme  date;  Le  Mm- 
istre  a  Frontenac,  me  me  date;  Ordre  du  Roy  a  Vaudreuil,  meme  date;  Le'Roy 
au  Sieur  deia  Caffiniere,  meme  date;  Champigny  au  Ministre,  16  Nov.,  1689. 

1  La  Hontan,  I   199." 

2  Instruction  pour  le  Sieur  Comte  de  Frontenac,  7  Juin,  1689. 


192  RETURN   OF  FROXTEXAC.  [1689. 

various  forts.  Then  he  repaired  to  what  was  once 
La  Chine,  and  surveyed  the  miserable  waste  of 
ashes  and  desolation  that  spread  for  miles  around. 
To  his  extreme  disgust,  he  learned  that  Denon- 
ville  had  sent  a  Canadian  officer  by  secret  paths  to 
Fort  Frontenac,  with  orders  to  Valrenne,  the  com- 
mandant, to  blow  it  up,  and  return  with  his  garrison 
to  Montreal.  Frontenac  had  built  the  fort,  had 
given  it  his  own  name,  and  had  cherished  it  with  a 
paternal  fondness,  reinforced  by  strong  hopes  of 
making  money  out  of  it.  For  its  sake  he  had  be- 
come the  butt  of  scandal  and  opprobrium ;  but  not 
the  less  had  he  always  stood  its  strenuous  and 
passionate  champion.  An  Iroquois  envoy  had  lately 
with  great  insolence  demanded  its  destruction  of 
Denonville ;  and  this  alone,  in  the  eyes  of  Fronte- 
nac, was  ample  reason  for  maintaining  it  at  any 
cost.1  He  still  had  hope  that  it  might  be  saved, 
and  with  all  the  energy  of  youth  he  proceeded  to 
collect  canoes,  men,  provisions,  and  arms ;  battled 
against  dejection,  insubordination,  and  fear,  and 
in  a  few  days  despatched  a  convoy  of  three  hun- 
dred men  to  relieve  the  place,  and  stop  the  execu- 
tion of  Denonville's  orders.  His  orders  had  been 
but  too  promptly  obeyed.  The  convoy  was  scarcely 
gone  an  hour,  when,  to  Frontenac' s  unutterable 
wrath,  Valrenne  appeared  with  his  garrison.  He 
reported  that  he  had  set  fire  to  every  thing  in  the 
fort  that  would  burn,  sunk  the  three  vessels  belong- 
ing to  it,  thrown  the  cannon  into  the  lake,  mined 
the  walls  and  bastions,  and  left  matches  burning 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Nov.,  1689. 


1689.]  IROQUOIS   DEFEAT.  193 

in  the  powder  magazine ;  and,  further,  that  when 
he  and  his  men  were  five  leagues  on  their  way  to 
Montreal  a  dull  and  distant  explosion  told  them  that 
the  mines  had  sprung.  It  proved  afterwards  that 
the  destruction  was  not  complete  ;  and  the  Iroquois 
took  possession  of  the  abandoned  fort,  with  a  large 
quantity  of  stores  and  munitions  left  by  the  gar- 
rison in  their  too  hasty  retreat.1 

There  was  one  ray  of  light  through  the  clouds. 
The  unwonted  news  of  a  victory  came  to  Montreal. 
It  was  small,  but  decisive,  and  might  be  an  earnest 
of  greater  things  to  come.  Before  Frontenac's 
arrival,  Denonville  had  sent  a  reconnoitring  party 
up  the  Ottawa.  They  had  gone  no  farther  than  the 
Lake  of  Two  Mountains,  when  they  met  twenty- 
two  Iroquois  in  two  large  canoes,  who  immediately 
bore  down  upon  them,  yelling  furiously.  The 
French  party  consisted  of  twenty-eight  coureurs 
de  hois  under  Du  Lhut  and  Mantet,  excellent 
partisan  chiefs,  who  manoeuvred  so  well  that  the 
rising  sun  blazed  full  in  the  eyes  of  the  advancing 
enemy,  and  spoiled  their  aim.  The  French  re- 
ceived their  fire,  which  wounded  one  man ;  then, 
closing  with  them  while  their  guns  were  empty, 
gave  them  a  volley,  which  killed  and  wounded 
eighteen  of  their  number.  One  swam  ashore.  The 
remaining  three  were  captured,  and  given  to  the 
Indian  allies  to  be  burned.2 

1  Frontenac  an  Ministre,  15  Nov.,  1689;  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s' 'est  passe  en 
Canada  depuis  Vannfa  1G82. 

2  Frontenac  an  Ministre,  15  Nov.,  1689  ;  Ckampigny  an  Ministre,  16  Nov., 
1689.  Compare  Belmont,  whose  account  is  a  little  different ;  also  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  IX.  435. 

13 


194  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC,  [1689. 

This  gleam  of  sunshine  passed,  and  all  grew  black 
again.  On  a  snowy  November  day,  a  troop  of 
Iroquois  fell  on  the  settlement  of  La  Chesnaye, 
burned  the  houses,  and  vanished  with  a  troop  of 
prisoners,  leaving  twenty  mangled  corpses  on  the 
snow.1  "  The  terror,"  wrote  the  bishop,  "  is  in- 
describable." The  appearance  of  a  few  savages 
would  put  a  whole  neighborhood  to  flight.2  So 
desperate,  wrote  Frontenac,  were  the  needs  of 
the  colony,  and  so  great  the  contempt  with  which 
the  Iroquois  regarded  it,  that  it  almost  needed  a 
miracle  either  to  carry  on  war  or  make  peace. 
What  he  most  earnestly  wished  was  to  keep  the 
Iroquois  quiet,  and  so  leave  his  hands  free  to  deal 
with  the  English.  This  was  not  easy,  to  such  a 
pitch  of  audacity  had  late  events  raised  them. 
Neither  his  temper  nor  his  convictions  would  allow 
him  to  beg  peace  of  them,  like  his  predecessor; 
but  he  had  inordinate  trust  in  the  influence  of  his 
name,  and  he  now  took  a  course  which  he  hoped 
might  answer  his  purpose  without  increasing  their 
insolence.  The  perfidious  folly  of  Denonville  in 
seizing  their  countrymen  at  Fort  Frontenac  had 
been  a  prime  cause  of  their  hostility ;  and,  at  the 
request  of  the  late  governor,  the  surviving  captives, 
'  thirteen  in  all,  had  been  taken  from  the  galleys, 
gorgeously  clad  in  French  attire,  and  sent  back 
to  Canada  in  the  ship  which  carried  Frontenac. 
Among  them  was  a  famous  Cayuga  war-chief  called 

1  Belmont,   Histoire  du   Canada  ;  Frontenac  a  ,  17  Nov.,  1689  ; 

Champigny  an  Ministre,  16  Nov.,  1689.     This  letter  is  not  the  one  just 
cited.     Champigny  wrote  twice  on  the  same  day. 

2  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  435. 


1689.]  HIS   EFFORTS    FOR  PEACE.  195 

Ourehaoue,  whose  loss  had  infuriated  the  Iroquois.1 
Frontenac  gained  his  good-will  on  the  voyage  ;  and, 
when  they  reached  Quebec,  he  lodged  him  in  the 
chateau,  and  treated  him  with  such  kindness  that 
the  chief  became  his  devoted  admirer  and  friend. 
As  his  influence  was  great  among  his  people,  Fron- 
tenac hoped  that  he  might  use  him  with  success  to 
bring  about  an  accommodation.  He  placed  three 
of  the  captives  at  the  disposal  of  the  Cayuga,  who 
forthwith  sent  them  to  Onondaga  with  a  message 
which  the  governor  had  dictated,  and  which  was 
to  the  following  effect :  "  The  great  Onontio,  whom 
you  all  know,  has  come  back  again.  He  does  not 
blame  you  for  what  you  have  done ;  for  he  looks 
upon  you  as  foolish  children,  and  blames  only  the 
English,  who  are  the  cause  of  your  folly,  and  have 
made  you  forget  your  obedience  to  a  father  who 
has  always  loved  and  never  deceived  you.  He 
will  permit  me,  Ourehaoue,  to  return  to  you  as 
soon  as  you  will  come  to  ask  for  me,  not  as  you 
have  spoken  of  late,  but  like  children  speaking  to 
a  father." 2  Frontenac  hoped  that  they  would 
send  an  embassy  to  reclaim  their  chief,  and  thus 
give  him  an  opportunity  to  use  his  personal  influ- 
ence over  them.  With  the  three  released  captives, 
he  sent  an  Iroquois  convert  named  Cut  Nose  with 
a  wampum  belt  to  announce  his  return. 

When  the  deputation  arrived  at  Onondaga 
and     made    known    their    errand,    the    Iroquois 

1  Ourehaoue  was  not  one  of  the  neutrals  entrapped  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
but  was  seized  about  the  same  time  by  the  troops  on  their  way  up  the 
St.  Lawrence. 

2  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  30  Avril,  1690. 


196  RETURN  OF  FBONTENAC.  [1689. 

magnates,  with  their  usual  deliberation,  deferred 
answering  till  a  general  council  of  the  confeder- 
acy should  have  time  to  assemble ;  and,  mean- 
while, they  sent  messengers  to  ask  the  mayor 
of  Albanv,  and  others  of  their  Dutch  and  English 
friends,  to  come  to  the  meeting.  They  did  not 
comply,  merely  sending  the  government  inter- 
preter, with  a  few  Mohawk  Indians,  to  represent 
their  interests.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Jesuit 
Milet,  who  had  been  captured  a  few  months  before, 
adopted,  and  made  an  Oneida  chief,  used  every 
effort  to  second  the  designs  of  Frontenac.  The 
authorities  of  Albany  tried  in  vain  to  induce  the 
Iroquois  to  place  him  in  their  hands.  They  under- 
stood their  interests  too  well,  and  held  fast  to  the 
Jesuit.1 

The  grand  council  took  place  at  Onondaga  on 
the  twenty-second  of  January.  Eighty  chiefs  and 
sachems,  seated  gravely  on  mats  around  the  coun- 
cil fire,  smoked  their  pipes  in  silence  for  a  while ; 
till  at  length  an  Onondaga  orator  rose,  and  an- 
nounced that  Frontenac,  the  old  Onontio,  had 
returned  with  Ourehaoue  and  twelve  more  of  their 
captive  friends,  that  he  meant  to  rekindle  the 
council  fire  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  that  he  invited 
them  to  meet  him  there.2 

1  Milet  was  taken  in  1G89,  not,  as  has  been  supposed,  in  1690.  Lettre 
du  Pere  Milet,  1601,  printed  by  Shea. 

2  Frontenac  declares  that  he  sent  no  sucli  message,  and  intimates 
that  Cut  Nose  had  been  tampered  with  by  persons  over-anxious  to  con- 
ciliate the  Iroquois,  and  who  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  send  them 
messages  on  their  own  account.  These  persons  were  Lamberville, 
Francois  Hertel.  and  one  of  the  Le  Moynes.  Frontenac  was  very  angry 
at  this  interference,  to  which  he  ascribes  the  most  mischievous  conse- 


1(390.]  THE  IROQUOIS  IN  COUNCIL.  197 

"  Ho,  ho,  ho,"  returned  the  eighty  senators,  from 
the  bottom  of  their  throats.  It  was  the  unfailing 
Iroquois  response  to  a  speech.  Then  Cut  Nose, 
the  governor's  messenger,  addressed  the  council : 
"  I  advise  you  to  meet  Onontio  as  he  desires. 
Do  so,  if  you  wish  to  live."  He  presented  a  wam- 
pum belt  to  confirm  his  words,  and  the  conclave 
again  returned  the  same  guttural  ejaculation. 

"  Ourehaoue  sends  you  this,"  continued  Cut  Nose, 
presenting  another  belt  of  wampum  :  "  by  it  he  ad- 
vises you  to  listen  to  Onontio,  if  you  wish  to  live." 

When  the  messenger  from  Canada  had  ceased, 
the  messenger  from  Albany,  a  Mohawk  Indian,  rose 
and  repeated  word  for  word  a  speech  confided  to 
him  by  the  mayor  of  that  town,  urging  the  Iro- 
quois to  close  their  ears  against  the  invitations  of 
Onontio. 

Next  rose  one  Cannehoot,  a  sachem  of  the  Sene- 
cas,  charged  with  matters  of  grave  import ;  for 
they  involved  no  less  than  the  revival  of  that 
scheme,  so  perilous  to  the  French,  of  the  union  of 
the  tribes  of  the  Great  Lakes  in  a  triple  alliance 
with  the  Iroquois  and  the  English.  These  lake 
tribes,  disgusted  with  the  French,  who,  under 
Denonville,  had  left  them  to  the  mercy  of  the  Iro- 
quois, had  been  impelled,  both  by  their  fears  and 
their  interests,  to  make  new  advances  to  the  con- 
federacy, and  had  first  addressed  themselves  to 
the  Senecas,  whom  they  had  most  cause  to  dread. 
They  had  given  up  some  of  the  Iroquois  prisoners 

quences.     Cut  Nose,  or  Nez  Coupe,  is  called  Adarahta  by  Colden,  and 
Gagniegaton,  or  Red  Bird,  by  some  French  writers. 


198  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1690. 

in  their  hands,  and  promised  soon  to  give  up  the 
rest.  A  treaty  had  been  made ;  and  it  was  this 
event  which  the  Seneca  sachem  now  announced  to 
the  council.  Having  told  the  story  to  his  assem- 
bled colleagues,  he  exhibited  and  explained  the 
wampum  belts  and  other  tokens  brought  by  the 
envoys  from  the  lakes,  who  represented  nine  dis- 
tinct tribes  or  bands  from  the  region  of  Michilli- 
mackinac.  By  these  tokens,  the  nine  tribes 
declared  that  they  came  to  learn  wisdom  of  the 
Iroquois  and  the  English ;  to  wash  off  the  war- 
paint, throw  clown  the  tomahawk,  smoke  the  pipe 
of  peace,  and  unite  with  them  as  one  body.  "  On- 
ontio  is  drunk,"  such  was  the  interpretation  of 
the  fourth  wampum  belt ;  "  but  we,  the  tribes  of 
Michillimackinac,  wash  our  hands  of  all  his  actions. 
Neither  we  nor  you  must  defile  ourselves  by 
listening  to  him."  When  the  Seneca  sachem  had 
ended,  and  when  the  ejaculations  that  echoed  his 
words  had  ceased,  the  belts  were  hung  up  before 
all  the  assembly,  then  taken  down  again,  and  dis- 
tributed among  the  sachems  of  the  five  Iroquois 
tribes,  excepting  one,  which  was  given  to  the  mes- 
sengers from  Albany.  Thus  was  concluded  the 
triple  alliance,  which  to  Canada  meant  no  less  than 
ruin. 

"  Brethren,"  said  an  Onondaga  sachem,  "  we 
must  hold  fast  to  our  brother  Quicler  [Peter  Schuy- 
ler, mayor  of  Albany),  and  look  on  Onontio  as 
our  enemy,  for  he  is  a  cheat." 

Then  they  invited  the  interpreter  from  Albany 
to  address  the  council,  which  he  did,  advising  them 


1690.]  THE   IROQUOIS  IN   COUNCIL.  199 

not  to  listen  to  the  envoys  from  Canada.  When  he 
had  ended,  they  spent  some  time  in  consultation 
among  themselves,  and  at  length  agreed  on  the 
following  message,  addressed  to  Corlaer,  or  New 
York,  and  to  Kinshon,  the  Fish,  by  which  they 
meant  New  England,  the  authorities  of  which  had 
sent  them  the  image  of  a  fish  as  a  token  of 
alliance :  1  — 

"  Brethren,  our  council  fire  burns  at  Albany. 
"We  will  not  go  to  meet  Onontio  at  Fort  Frontenac. 
We  will  hold  fast  to  the  old  chain  of  peace  with 
Corlaer,  and  we  will  fight  with  Onontio.  Brethren, 
we  are  glad  to  hear  from  you  that  you  are  pre- 
paring to  make  war  on  Canada,  but  tell  us  no 
lies. 

"  Brother  Kinshon,  we  hear  that  you  mean  to 
send  soldiers  against  the  Indians  to  the  eastward  ; 
but  we  advise  you,  now  that  we  are  all  united 
against  the  French,  to  fall  upon  them  at  once. 
Strike  at  the  root :  when  the  trunk  is  cut  clown, 
all  the  branches  fall  with  it. 

"  Courage,  Corlaer  !  courage,  Kinshon  !  Go  to 
Quebec  in  the  spring ;  take  it,  and  you  will  have 
your  feet  on  the  necks  of  the  French  and  all  their 
friends." 

Then  they  consulted  together  again,  and  agreed 
on  the  following  answer  to  Ourehaoue  and  Fron- 
tenac :  — 

"  Ourehaoue,  the  whole  council  is  glad  to  hear 
that  you  have  come  back. 

1  The  wooden  image  of  a  codfish  still  hangs  in  the  State  House  at 
Boston,  the  emblem  of  a  colony  which  lived  chiefly  by  the  fisheries. 


200  RETURN   OF  FRONTENAC.  [1690. 

"  Onontio,  you  have  tolcl  us  that  you  have  come 
back  again,  and  brought  with  you  thirteen  of  our 
people  who  were  carried  prisoners  to  France.  We 
are  glad  of  it.  You  wish  to  speak  with  us  at  Cata- 
raqui  [Fort  Frontenac).  Don't  you  know  that 
your  council  fire  there  is  put  out  ?  It  is  quenched 
in  blood.  You  must  first  send  home  the  prison- 
ers, When  our  brother  Ourehaoue  is  returned  to 
us,  then  we  will  talk  with  you  of  peace.  You  must 
send  him  and  the  others  home  this  very  winter. 
We  now  let  you  know  that  we  have  made  peace 
with  the  tribes  of  Michillimackinac.  You  are  not 
to  think,  because  we  return  you  an  answer,  that 
we  have  laid  down  the  tomahawk.  Our  warriors 
will  continue  the  war  till  you  send  our  country- 
men back  to  us."  ] 

The  messengers  from  Canada  returned  with  this 
reply.  Unsatisfactory  as  it  was,  such  a  quantity 
of  wampum  was  sent  with  it  as  showed  plainly  the 
importance  attached  by  the  Iroquois  to  the  mat- 
ters in  question.  Encouraged  by  a  recent  success 
against  the  English,  and  still  possessed  with  an  over- 
weening confidence  in  his  own  influence  over  the 
confederates,  Frontenac  resolved  that  Ourehaoue 
should  send  them  another  message.  The  chief, 
whose  devotion  to   the  count  never  wavered,  ac- 

1  The  account  of  this  council  is  given,  with  condensation  and  the 
omission  of  parts  not  essential,  from  Colden  (105-112,  ed.  1747).  It  will 
6erve  as  an  example  of  the  Iroquois  method  of  conducting  political  busi- 
ness, the  habitual  regularity  and  decorum  of  which  has  drawn  from 
several  contemporary  French  writers  the  remark  that  in  such  matters 
the  five  tribes  were  savages  only  in  name.  The  reply  to  Frontenac  is 
also  given  by  Monseignat  (V.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  465),  and,  after  him,  by 
La  Potherie.  Compare  Le  Clereq,  EtabHssement  tie  la  Foy,  II.  403. 
Ourehaoue'  is  the  Tawerahet  of   Colden. 


1690.]  CHEVALIER  D'AUX.  201 

corclingly  despatched  four  envoys,  with  a  load  of 
wampum  belts,  expressing  his  astonishment  that 
his  countrymen  had  not  seen  fit  to  send  a  deputa- 
tion of  chiefs  to  receive  him  from  the  hands  of  On- 
ontio,  and  calling  upon  them  to  do  so  without  delay, 
lest  he  should  think  that  they  had  forgotten  him. 
Along  with  the  messengers,  Frontenac  ventured  to 
send  the  Chevalier  d'Aux,  a  half-pay  officer,  with 
orders  to  observe  the  disposition  of  the  Iroquois, 
and  impress  them  in  private  talk  with  a  sense  of 
the  count's  power,  of  his  good-will  to  them,  and 
of  the  wisdom  of  coming  to  terms  with  him,  lest, 
like  an  angry  father,  he  should  be  forced  at  last 
to  use  the  rod.  The  chevalier's  reception  was  a 
warm  one.  They  burned  two  of  his  attendants, 
forced  him  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and,  after  a  vigorous 
thrashing,  sent  him  prisoner  to  Albany.  The  last 
failure  was  worse  than  the  first.  The  count's  name 
was  great  among  the  Iroquois,  but  he  had  trusted 
its  power  too  far.1 

The  worst  of  news  had  come  from  Michillimack- 
inac.  La  Durantaye,  the  commander  of  the  post, 
and  Carheil,  the  Jesuit,  had  sent  a  messenger  to 
Montreal  in  the  depth  of  winter  to  say  that  the 
tribes  around  them  were  on  the  point  of  revolt. 
Carheil  wrote  that  they  threatened  openly  to  throw 
themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  Iroquois  and  the 
English ;  that  they  declared  that  the  protection  of 
Onontio  was  an  illusion  and   a  snare  ;  that  they 

1  Message  of  Ourehaoue,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  735;  Instructions  to 
Chevalier  d'Eau,  Ibid.,  733;  Chevalier  d'Aux  au  MinUtre,  15  Mai,  1693. 
The  chevalier's  name  is  also  written  d'O.  He  himself  wrote  it  as  in  the 
text. 


202  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


once  mistook  the  French  for  warriors,  but  saw  now 
that  they  were  no  match  for  the  Iroquois,  whom 
they  had  tamely  allowed  to  butcher  them  at  Mon- 
treal, without  even  daring  to  defend  themselves ; 
that  when  the  French  invaded  the  Senecas  they 
did  nothing  but  cut  down  corn  and  break  canoes, 
and  since  that  time  they  had  done  nothing  but  beg 
peace  for  themselves,  forgetful  of  their  allies,  whom 
they  expected  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  war,  and 
then  left  to  their  fate;  that  they  had  surren- 
dered through  cowardice  the  prisoners  they  had 
caught  by  treachery,  and  this,  too,  at  a  time  when 
the  Iroquois  were  burning  French  captives  in  all 
their  towns ;  and,  finally,  that,  as  the  French 
would  not  or  could  not  make  peace  for  them,  they 
would  make  peace  for  themselves.  "  These,"  pur- 
sued Carheil,  "  are  the  reasons  they  give  us  to 
prove  the  necessity  of  their  late  embassy  to  the 
Senecas ;  and  by  this  one  can  see  that  our  Indians 
are  a  great  deal  more  clear-sighted  than  they  are 
thought  to  be,  and  that  it  is  hard  to  conceal  from 
their  penetration  any  thing  that  can  help  or  harm 
their  interests.  What  is  certain  is  that,  if  the  Iro- 
quois are  not  stopped,  they  will  not  fail  to  come  and 
make  themselves  masters  here."  l 

Charlevoix  thinks  that  Frontenac  was  not  dis- 
pleased at  this  bitter  arraignment  of  his  prede- 
cessor's administration.  At  the  same  time,  his 
position  was  very  embarrassing.     He  had  no  men 

1  Carheil  a  Frontenac,  1690.  Frontenac  did  not  receive  this*letter  till 
September,  and  acted  on  the  information  previously  sent  him.  Charle- 
voix's version  of  the  letter  does  not  conform  with  the  original. 


1690.]  HIS   BOLDNESS.  203 

to  spare;  but  such  was  the  necessity  of  saving 
Michillimackinac,  and  breaking  off  the  treaty  with 
the  Senecas,  that  when  spring  opened  he  sent 
Captain  Louvigny  with  a  hundred  and  forty-three 
Canadians  and  six  Indians  to  reinforce  the  post 
and  replace  its  commander,  La  Durantaye.  Two 
other  officers  with  an  additional  force  were  ordered 
to  accompany  him  through  the  most  dangerous 
part  of  the  journey.  With  them  went  Nicolas 
Perrot,  bearing  a  message  from  the  count  to  his 
rebellious  children  of  Michillimackinac.  The  fol- 
lowing was  the  pith  of  this  characteristic  docu- 
ment :  — 

"  I  am  astonished  to  learn  that  you  have  for- 
gotten the  protection  that  I  always  gave  you.  Do 
you  think  that  I  am  no  longer  alive  ;  or  that  I 
have  a  mind  to  stand  idle,  like  those  who  have  been 
here  in  my  place  ?  Or  do  you  think  that,  if  eight 
or  ten  hairs  have  been  torn  from  my  children's 
heads  when  I  was  absent,  I  cannot  put  ten  hand- 
fuls  of  hair  in  the  place  of  every  one  that  was 
pulled  out?  You  know  that  before  I  protected 
you  the  ravenous  Iroquois  dog  was  biting  every- 
body. I  tamed  him  and  tied  him  up;  but,  when 
he  no  longer  saw  me,  he  behaved  worse  than  ever. 
If  he  persists,  he  shall  feel  my  power.  The  Eng- 
lish have  tried  to  win  him  by  flatteries,  but  I  will 
kill  all  who  encourage  him.  The  English  have 
deceived  and  devoured  their  children,  but  I  am  a 
good  father  who  loves  you.  I  loved  the  Iroquois 
once,  because  they  obeyed  me.  When  I  knew  that 
they  had  been  treacherously  captured  and  carried 


204  RETURN  OF  FROXTEXAC.  [1690. 

to  France,  I  set  them  free  ;  and,  when  I  restore 
them  to  their  country,  it  will  not  be  through  fear, 
but  through  pity,  for  I  hate  treachery.  I  am 
strong  enough  to  kill  the  English,  destroy  the  Iro- 
quois, and  whip  you,  if  you  fail  in  your  duty  to  me. 
The  Iroquois  have  killed  and  captured  you  in  time 
of  peace.  Do  to  them  as  they  have  done  to  you, 
do  to  the  English  as  they  would  like  to  do  to  you, 
but  hold  fast  to  your  true  father,  who  will  never 
abandon  you.  Will  you  let  the  English  brandy 
that  has  killed  you  in  your  wigwams  lure  you  into 
the  kettles  of  the  Iroquois  ?  Is  not  mine  better, 
which  has  never  killed  you,  but  always  made  you 
strong?"1 

Charged  with  this  haughty  missive,  Perrot  set 
out  for  Michillimackinac  along  with  Louvigny  and 
his  men.  On  their  way  up  the  Ottawa,  they  met 
a  large  band  of  Iroquois  hunters,  whom  they  routed 
with  heavy  loss.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
auspicious  for  Perrot's  errand.  When  towards  mid- 
summer they  reached  their  destination,  they  ranged 
their  canoes  in  a  triumphal  procession,  placed  in 
the  foremost  an  Iroquois  captured  in  the  fight, 
forced  him  to  dance  and  sing,  hung  out  the  fleur- 
de-lis,  shouted  Vive  le  Boi,  whooped,  yelled,  and 
fired  their  guns.  As  they  neared  the  village  of  the 
Ottawas,  all  the  naked  population  ran  down  to  the 
shore,  leaping,  yelping,  and  firing,  in  return.  Lou- 
vigny and   his  men  passed  on,  and  landed  at  the 


1  Parole  [dp  M.  de  Frontenac)  qui  doit  etre  dite  a  I'Outaouais  pour  le  dis- 
suader  d>-  V Alliance  qu'il  vent  /aire  avec  I'Iroguois  el  I'Anglois.  The  mes- 
sage is  long.     Only  the  principal  points  are  given  above. 


1690.]  THE   FRENCH  AT  MICHILLIMACKINAC.  205 

neighboring  village  of  the  French  settlers,  who, 
drawn  up  in  battle  array  on  the  shore,  added  more 
yells  and  firing  to  the  general  uproar ;  though,  amid 
this  joyous  fusillade  of  harmless  gunpowder,  they 
all  kept  their  bullets  ready  for  instant  use,  for  they 
distrusted  the  savage  multitude.  The  story  of  the 
late  victory,  however,  confirmed  as  it  was  by  an 
imposing  display  of  scalps,  produced  an  effect  which 
averted  the  danger  of  an  immediate  outbreak. 

The  fate  of  the  Iroquois  prisoner  now  became 
the  point  at  issue.  The  French  hoped  that  the 
Indians  in  their  excitement  could  be  induced  to 
put  him  to  death,  and  thus  break  their  late  treaty 
with  his  countrymen.  Besides  the  Ottawas,  there 
was  at  Michillimackinac  a  village  of  Hurons  under 
their  crafty  chief,  the  Rat.  They  had  pretended 
to  stand  fast  for  the  French,  who  nevertheless  be- 
lieved them  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  mischief. 
They  now  begged  for  the  prisoner,  promising  to 
burn  him.  On  the  faith  of  this  pledge,  he  was 
given  to  them ;  but  they  broke  their  word,  and 
kept  him  alive,  in  order  to  curry  favor  with  the 
Iroquois.  The  Ottawas,  intensely  jealous  of  the 
preference  shown  to  the  Hurons,  declared  in  their 
anger  that  the  prisoner  ought  to  be  killed  and 
eaten.  This  was  precisely  what  the  interests  of 
the  French  demanded ;  but  the  Hurons  still  per- 
sisted in  protecting  him.  Their  Jesuit  missionary 
now  interposed,  and  told  them  that,  unless  they 
"  put  the  Iroquois  into  the  kettle,"  the  French 
would  take  him  from  them.  After  much  discussion, 
this  argument  prevailed.     They  planted  a  stake, 


206  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1690. 

tied  him  to  it,  and  began  to  torture  him ;  but,  as 
he  did  not  show  the  usual  fortitude  of  his  country- 
men, they  declared  him  unworthy  to  die  the  death 
of  a  warrior,  and  accordingly  shot  him.1 

Here  was  a  point  gained  for  the  French,  but  the 
danger  was  not  passed.  The  Ottawas  could  dis- 
avow the  killing  of  the  Iroquois ;  and,  in  fact, 
though  there  was  a  great  division  of  .opinion 
among  them,  they  were  preparing  at  this  very  time 
to  send  a  secret  embassy  to  the  Seneca  country  to 
ratify  the  fatal  treaty.  The  French  commanders 
called  a  council  of  all  the  tribes.  It  met  at  the 
house  of  the  Jesuits.  Presents  in  abundance  were 
distributed.  The  message  of  Frontenac  was  rein- 
forced by  persuasion  and  threats  ;  and  the  assembly 
was  told  that  the  five  tribes  of  the  Iroquois  were 
like  five  nests  of  muskrats  in  a  marsh,  which  the 
French  would  drain  dry,  and  then  burn  with  all 
its  inhabitants.  Perrot  took  the  disaffected  chiefs 
aside,  and  with  his  usual  bold  adroitness  diverted 
them  for  the  moment  from  their  purpose.  The 
projected  embassy  was  stopped,  but  any  day  might 
revive  it.     There  was  no  safety  for  the  French, 

1  "Le  Pere  Missionnaire  des  Hurons,  prevoyant  que  cette  affaire 
auroit  peut-etre  une  suite  qui  pourrait  etre  prejudiciable  aux  soins  qu'il 
prenoit  de  leur  instruction,  demanda  qu'il  lui  fut  permis  d'aller  a  leur 
village  pour  les  obliger  de  trouver  quelque  moyen  qui  fut  capable  d'ap- 
paiser  le  ressentiment  des  Francois.  II  leur  dit  que  ceux-ci  vouloient 
absolument  que  l'on  mit  I' Iroquois  a  la  chaudiere,  et  que  si  on  ne  le 
faisoit,  on  devoit  venir  le  leur  enlever."  La  Potherie,  II.  237  (1722). 
By  the  "result  prejudicial  to  his  cares  for  their  instruction  "  he  seems  to 
mean  their  possible  transfer  from  French  to  English  influences.  The 
expression  mettre  a  la  chaudiere,  though  derived  from  cannibal  practices, 
is  often  used  figuratively  for  torturing  and  killing.  The  missionary  in 
question  was  either  Carheil  or  another  Jesuit,  who  must  have  acted  with 
his  sanction. 


1690.]  THE   STROKE  PARRIED.  207 

and  the  ground  of  Michillimackinac  was  hollow 
under  their  feet.  Every  thing  depended  on  the 
success  of  their  arms.  A  few  victories  would  con- 
firm their  wavering  allies ;  but  the  breath  of  an- 
other defeat  would  blow  the  fickle  crew  over  to 
the  enemy  like  a  drift  of  dry  leaves. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

1690. 
THE    THREE    WAR-PARTIES. 

Measures  of  Frontenac.  —  Expedition  against  Schenectady.  — 
The  March.  —  The  Dutch  Village.  —  The  Surprise.  —  The 
Massacre.  —  Prisoners  spared.  —  Retreat.  —  The  English  and 
their  Iroquois  Friends.  —  The  Abenaki  War.  —  Revolution  at 
Boston.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid. —  Capture  of  Salmon  Falls. 
—  Capture  of  Fort  Loyal.  —  Frontenac  and  his  Prisoner. — 
The  Canadians   encouraged. 

While  striving  to  reclaim  his  allies,  Frontenac 
had  not  forgotten  his  enemies.  It  was  of  the  last 
necessity  to  revive  the  clashed  spirits  of  the  Cana- 
dians and  the  troops ;  and  action,  prompt  and  bold, 
was  the  only  means  of  doing  so.  He  resolved, 
therefore,  to  take  the  offensive,  not  against  the 
Iroquois,  who  seemed  invulnerable  as  ghosts,  but 
against  the  English ;  and  by  striking  a  few  sharp 
and  rapid  blows  to  teach  both  friends  and  foes  that 
Onontio  was  still  alive.  The  effect  of  his  return 
had  already  begun  to  appear,  and  the  energy  and 
fire  of  the  undaunted  veteran  had  shot  new  life 
into  the  dejected  population.  He  formed  three 
war-parties  of  picked  men,  one  at  Montreal, 
one  at  Three  Rivers,  and  one  at  Quebec ;  the 
first    to    strike    at    Albany,    the     second    at    the 


1690.]  THE   BUSH-RANGERS.  209 

border  settlements  of  New  Hampshire,  and  the 
third  at  those  of  Maine.  That  of  Montreal  was 
ready  first.  It  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  ten 
men,  of  whom  ninety-six  were  Indian  converts, 
chiefly  from  the  two  mission  villages  of  Saut  St. 
Louis  and  the  Mountain  of  Montreal.  They  were 
Christian  Iroquois  whom  the  priests  had  persuaded 
to  leave  their  homes  and  settle  in  Canada,  to  the 
great  indignation  of  their  heathen  countrymen, 
and  the  great  annoyance  of  the  English  colonists, 
to  whom  they  were  a  constant  menace.  When 
Denonville  attacked  the  Senecas,  they  had  joined 
him ;  but  of  late  they  had  shown  reluctance  to 
fight  their  heathen  kinsmen,  with  whom  the  French 
even  suspected  them  of  collusion.  Against  the 
English,  however,  they  willingly  took  up  the 
hatchet.  The  French  of  the  party  were  for 
the  most  part  coiireurs  de  bois.  As  the  sea  is 
the  sailor's  element,  so  the  forest  was  theirs.  Their 
merits  were  hardihood  and  skill  in  woodcraft ;  their 
chief  faults  were  insubordination  and  lawlessness. 
They  had  shared  the  general  demoralization  that 
followed  the  inroad  of  the  Iroquois,  and  under 
Denonville  had  proved  mutinous  and  unmanage- 
able. In  the  best  times,  it  was  a  hard  task  to  com- 
mand them,  and  one  that  needed,  not  bravery 
alone,  but  tact,  address,  and  experience.  Under  a 
chief  of  such  a  stamp,  they  were  admirable  bush- 
fighters,  and  such  were  those  now  chosen  to  lead 
them.  D'Aillebout  de  Mantet  and  Le  Moyne  de 
Sainte-Helene,  the  brave  son  of  Charles  Le  Moyne, 
had  the  chief  command,  supported  by  the  brothers 

14 


210  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

Le  Moyne  d 'Iberville  and  Le  Moyne  de  Bienville, 
with  Repentigny  de  Montesson,  Le  Ber  clu  Chesne, 
and  others  of  the  sturdy  Canadian  noblesse,  nerved 
by  adventure  and  trained  in  Indian  warfare.1 

It  was  the  depth  of  winter  when  they  began 
their  march,  striding  on  snow-shoes  over  the  vast 
white  field  of  the  frozen  St.  Lawrence,  each  with 
the  hood  of  his  blanket  coat  drawn  over  his  head, 
a  gun  in  his  mittened  hand,  a  knife,  a  hatchet,  a 
tobacco  pouch,  and  a  bullet  pouch  at  his  belt,  a 
pack  on  his  shoulders,  and  his  inseparable  pipe 
hung  at  his  neck  in  a  leather  case.  They  dragged 
their  blankets  and  provisions  over  the  snow  on 
Indian  sledges.  Crossing  the  forest  to  Chambly, 
they  advanced  four  or  five  days  up  the  frozen 
Richelieu  and  the  frozen  Lake  Champlain,  and  then 
stopped  to  hold  a  council.  Frontenac  had  left  the 
precise  point  of  attack  at  the  discretion  of  the 
leaders,  and  thus  far  the  men  had  been  ignorant  of 
their  destination.  The  Indians  demanded  to  know 
it.  Mantet  and  Sainte-Helene  replied  that  they 
were  going  to  Albany.  The  Indians  demurred. 
"  How  long  is  it,"  asked  one  of  them,  "since  the 
French  grew  so  bold  ?  "  The  commanders  an- 
swered that,  to  regain  the  honor  of  which  their 
late  misfortunes  had  robbed  them,  the  French 
would   take  Albany  or  die   in  the   attempt.     The 

1  Relation  de  Monseiynat,  1689-90.  There  is  a  translation  of  this 
valuable  paper  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  462.  The  party,  according  to 
three  of  their  number,  consisted  at  first  of  160  French  and  110  Christian 
Indians,  but  was  reduced  by  sickness  and  desertion  to  250  in  all.  Ex- 
amination of  three  French  prisoners  taken  by  ye.  Maquas  {Mohawks),  and 
brought  to  Skinnectady,  who  were  examined  by  Peter  Schuyler,  Mayor  of  Al- 
bany, Domine  (jodtvridus  Dellius,  and  some  of  y*  Gentle'}  that  went  from 
Albany  a  purpose. 


1690.]  THE  MAKCH.  211 

Indians  listened  sullenly ;  the  decision  was  post- 
poned, and  the  party  moved  forward  again.  When 
after  eight  days  they  reached  the  Hudson,  and 
found  the  place  where  two  paths  diverged,  the  one 
for  Albany  and  the  other  for  Schenectady,  they  all 
without  farther  words  took  the  latter.  Indeed,  to 
attempt  Albany  would  have  been  an  act  of  despera- 
tion. The  march  was  horrible.  There  was  a  par- 
tial thaw,  and  they  waclecl  knee-deep  through  the 
half  melted  snow,  and  the  mingled  ice,  mud,  and 
water  of  the  gloomy  swamps.  So  painful  and  so 
slow  was  their  progress,  that  it  was  nine  days  more 
before  they  reached  a  point  two  leagues  from 
Schenectady.  The  weather  had  changed  again, 
and  a  cold,  gusty  snow-storm  pelted  them.  It  was 
one  of  those  days  when  the  trees  stand  white  as 
spectres  in  the  sheltered  hollows  of  the  forest,  and 
bare  and  gray  on  the  wind-swept  ridges.  The 
men  were  half  dead  with  cold,  fatigue,  and 
hunger.  It  was  four  in  the  afternoon  of  the  eighth 
of  February.  The  scouts  found  an  Indian  hut,  and 
in  it  were  four  Iroquois  squaws,  whom  they  cap- 
tured. There  was  a.  fire  in  the  wigwam  ;  and  the 
shivering  Canadians  crowded  about  it,  stamping 
their  chilled  feet  and  warming  their  benumbed 
hands  over  the  blaze.  The  Christian  chief  of  the 
Saut  St.  Louis,  known  as  Le  Grand  Agnie,  or  the 
Great  Mohawk,  by  the  French,  and  by  the  Dutch 
called  Kryn,  harangued  his  followers,  and  exhorted 
them  to  wash  out  their  wrongs  in  blood.  Then 
they  all  advanced  again,  and  about  dark  reached 
the  river  Mohawk,  a  little  above  the  village.     A 


212  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

Canadian  named  Gignieres,  who  had  gone  with 
nine  Indians  to  reconnoitre,  now  returned  to  say 
that  he  had  been  within  sight  of  Schenectady,  and 
had  seen  nobody.  Their  purpose  had  been  to 
postpone  the  attack  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  but  the  situation  was  intolerable,  and  the 
limit  of  human  endurance  was  reached.  They 
could  not  make  fires,  and  they  must  move  on  or 
perish.  Guided  by  the  frightened  squaws,  they 
crossed  the  Mohawk  on  the  ice,  toiling  through 
the  drifts  amid  the  whirling  snow  that  swept  down 
the  valley  of  the  darkened  stream,  till  about  eleven 
o'clock  they  descried  through  the  storm  the  snow- 
beplasterecl  palisades  of  the  devoted  village.  Such 
was  their  plight  that  some  of  them  afterwards 
declared  that  they  would  all  have  surrendered  if 
an  enemy  had  appeared  to  summon  them.1 

Schenectady  was  the  farthest  outpost  of  the  col- 
ony of  New  York.  Westward  lay  the  Mohawk 
forests  ;  and  Orange,  or  Albany,  was  fifteen  miles  or 
more  towards  the  south-east.  The  village  was  oblong 
in  form,  and  enclosed  by  a  palisade  which  had  two 
gates,  one  towards  Albany  and  the  other  towards 
the  Mohawks.  There  was  a  blockhouse  near  the 
eastern  gate,  occupied  by  eight  or  nine  Connecticut 
militia  men  under  Lieutenant  Talmage.  There  were 
also  about  thirty  friendly  Mohawks  in  the  place,  on 
a  visit.  The  inhabitants,  who  were  all  Dutch,  were 
in  a  state  of  discord  and  confusion.  The  revolu- 
tion in  England  had  produced  a  revolution  in  New 
York.     The  demagogue  Jacob  Leisler  had  got  pos- 

i  Colden,  114  (ed.  1717), 


1690.]  SCHENECTADY.  213 

session  of  Fort  William,  and  was  endeavoring  to 
master  the  whole  colony.  Albany  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  anti-Leisler  or  conservative  party,  repre- 
sented by  a  convention  of  which  Peter  Schuyler 
was  the  chief.  The  Dutch  of  Schenectady  for  the 
most  part  favored  Leisler,  whose  emissaries  had 
been  busily  at  work  among  them ;  but  their  chief 
magistrate,  John  Sander  Glen,  a  man  of  courage 
and  worth,  stood  fast  for  the  Albany  convention, 
and  in  consequence  the  villagers  had  threatened  to 
kill  him.  Talmage  and  his  Connecticut  militia  were 
under  orders  from  Albany ;  and  therefore,  like 
Glen,  they  were  under  the  popular  ban.  In  vain 
the  magistrate  and  the  officer  entreated  the  people 
to  stand  on  their  guard.  They  turned  the  advice 
to  ridicule,  laughed  at  the  idea  of  clanger,  left  both 
their  gates  wide  open,  and  placed  there,  it  is  said, 
two  snow  images  as  mock  sentinels.  A  French 
account  declares  that  the  village  contained  eighty 
houses,  which  is  certainly  an  exaggeration.  There 
had  been  some  festivity  during  the  evening,  but  it 
was  now  over  ;  and  the  primitive  villagers,  fathers, 
mothers,  children,  and  infants,  lay  buried  in  un- 
conscious sleep.  They  were  simple  peasants  and 
rude  woodsmen,  but  with  human  affections  and 
capable  of  human  woe. 

The  French  and  Indians  stood  before  the  open 
gate,  with  its  blind  and  dumb  warder,  the  mock 
sentinel  of  snow.  Iberville  went  with  a  detach- 
ment to  find  the  Albany  gate,  and  bar  it  against 
the  escape  of  fugitives ;  but  he  missed  it  in  the 
gloom,  and  hastened   back.     The  assailants  were 


214  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

now  formed  into  two  bands,  Sainte-Helene  leading 
the  one  and  Mantet  the  other.  They  passed 
through  the  srate  together  in  dead  silence :  one 
turned  to  the  right  and  the  other  to  the  left,  and 
they  filed  around  the  village  between  the  palisades 
and  the  houses  till  the  two  leaders  met  at  the 
farther  end.  Thus  the  place  was  completely  sur- 
rounded. The  signal  was  then  given  :  they  all 
screeched  the  war-whoop  together,  burst  in  the 
doors  with  hatchets,  and  fell  to  their  work. 
Boused  by  the  infernal  din,  the  villagers  leaped 
from  their  beds.  For  some  it  was  but  a  momentary 
nightmare  of  fright  and  horror,  ended  bv  the  blow 
of  the  tomahawk.  Others  were  less  fortunate. 
Neither  women  nor  children  were  spared.  "  No 
pen  can  write,  and  no  tongue  express,"  wrote 
Schuyler,  "  the  cruelties  that  were  committed.' ' 1 
There  was  little  resistance,  except  at  the  block- 
house, where  Talmage  and  his  men  made  a  stub- 
born fight ;  but  the  doors  were  at  length  forced 
open,  the  defenders  killed  or  taken,  and  the  build- 
ing set  on  fire.  Adam  Yrooman,  one  of  the 
villagers,  saw  his  wife  shot  and  his  child  brained 
against  the  door-post;  but  he  fought  so  desper- 
ately that  the  assailants  promised  him  his  life. 
Orders  had  been  given  to  spare  Peter  Tassemaker, 
the  d online  or  minister,  from  whom  it  was  thought 
that  valuable  information  might  be  obtained ;  but 

1  "  The  women  bigg  with  Childe  rip'd  up,  and  the  Children  alive 
throwne  into  the  flames,  and  their  heads  dashed  to  pieces  against  the 
Doors  and  windows."  Schuyler  to  the  Council  of  Connecticut,  15  Feb.,  1690. 
Similar  statements  are  made  by  Leisler.  See  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  I.  307, 
310. 


1690.]  THE   MASSACRE.  215 

he  was  hacked  to  pieces,  and  his  house  burned. 
Some,  more  agile  or  more  fortunate  than  the  rest, 
escaped  at  the  eastern  gate,  and  fled  through 
the  storm  to  seek  shelter  at  Albany  or  at  houses 
along  the  way.  Sixty  persons  were  killed  out- 
right, of  whom  thirty-eight  were  men  and  boys, 
ten  were  women,  and  twelve  were  children.1 
The  number  captured  appears  to  have  been  be- 
tween eighty  and  ninety.  The  thirty  Mohawks 
in  the  town  were  treated  with  studied  kindness 
by  the  victors,  who  declared  that  they  had  no 
quarrel  with  them,  but  only  with  the  Dutch 
and    English. 

The  massacre  and  pillage  continued  two  hours ; 
then  the  prisoners  were  secured,  sentinels  posted, 
and  the  men  told  to  rest  and  refresh  themselves. 
In  the  morning,  a  small  party  crossed  the  river  to 
the  house  of  Glen,  which  stood  on  a  rising  ground 
half  a  mile  distant.  It  was  loopholed  and  palisaded  ; 
and  Glen  had  mustered  his  servants  and  tenants, 
closed  his  gates,  and  prepared  to  defend  himself. 
The  French  told  him  to  fear  nothing,  for  they  had 
orders  not  to  hurt  a  chicken  of  his  ;  whereupon, 
after  requiring  them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  he 
allowed  them  to  enter.  They  urged  him  to  go 
with  them  to  the  village,  and  he  complied  ;  they  on 
their  part  leaving  one  of  their  number  as  a  hostage 
in  the  hands  of  his  followers.  Iberville  appeared 
at  the  gate  with  the  Great  Mohawk,  and,  drawing 
his  commission  from  the   breast  of  his   coat,   told 

1  List  of  ye.  People  Mid  and  destroyed  by  ye.  French  of  Canida  and  there 
Indians  at  Skinnechtady,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  I.  304. 


216  THE   THREE    WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

Glen  that  he  was  specially  charged  to  pay  a  debt 
which  the  French  owed  him.  On  several  occasions, 
he  had  saved  the  lives  of  French  prisoners  in  the 
hands  of  the  Mohawks ;  and  he,  with  his  family, 
and,  above  all,  his  wife,  had  shown  them  the 
greatest  kindness.  He  wTas  now  led  before  the 
crowd  of  wretched  prisoners,  and  told  that  not 
only  were  his  own  life  and  property  safe,  but  that 
all  his  kindred  should  be  spared.  Glen  stretched 
his  privilege  to  the  utmost,  till  the  French  Indians, 
disgusted  at  his  multiplied  demands  for  clem- 
ency, observed  that  everybody  seemed  to  be  his 
relation. 

Some  of  the  houses  had  already  been  burned. 
Fire  was  now  set  to  the  rest,  excepting  one,  in 
which  a  French  officer  lay  wounded,  another  be- 
longing to  Glen,  and  three  or  four  more  which  he 
begged  the  victors  to  spare.  At  noon  Schenectady 
was  in  ashes.  Then  the  French  and  Indians  with- 
drew, laden  with  booty.  Thirty  or  forty  captured 
horses  dragged  their  sledges ;  and  a  troop  of 
twenty-seven  men  and  boys  were  driven  prisoners 
into  the  forest.  About  sixty  old  men,  women,  and 
children  were  left  behind,  without  farther  injury, 
in  order,  it  is  said,  to  conciliate  the  Mohawks  in 
the  place,  who  had  joined  with  Glen  in  begging 
that  they  might  be  spared.  Of  the  victors,  only 
two  had  been  killed.1 

1  Many  of  the  authorities  on  the  burning  of  Schenectady  will  be 
found  in  the  Documentary  History  of  Neiv  York,  I.  297-312.  One  of  the 
most  important  is  a  portion  of  the  long  letter  of  M.  de  Monseignat,  comp- 
troller-general of  the  marine  in  Canada,  to  a  lady  of  rank,  said  to  be 
Madame    de    Maintenon.     Others   are    contemporary    documents    pre- 


1690.]  ALARM  AT  ALBANY.  217 

At  the  outset  of  the  attack,  Simon  Schermer- 
horn  threw  himself  on  a  horse,  and  galloped 
through  the  eastern  gate.  The  French  shot  at 
and  wounded  him  ;  but  he  escaped,  reached  Al- 
bany at  daybreak,  and  gave  the  alarm.  The 
soldiers  and  inhabitants  were  called  to  arms,  can- 
non were  fired  to  rouse  the  country,  and  a  party 
of  horsemen,  followed  by  some  friendly  Mohawks, 
set  out  for  Schenectady.  The  Mohawks  had  prom- 
ised to  carry  the  news  to  their  three  towns  on  the 
river  above  ;  but,  when  they  reached  the  ruined 
village,  they  were  so  frightened  at  the  scene  of 
havoc  that  they  would  not  go  farther.  Two  clays 
passed  before  the  alarm  reached  the  Mohawk 
towns.     Then  troops  of  warriors  came  down  on 

served  at  Albany,  including,  among  others,  the  lists  of  killed  and  cap- 
tured, letters  of  Leisler  to  the  governor  of  Maryland,  the  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  the  governor  of  Barbadoes,  and  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury  ; 
of  Robert  Livingston  to  Sir  Edmund  Andros  and  to  Captain  Nicholson ; 
and  of  Mr.  Van  Cortlandt  to  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  One  of  the  best 
contemporary  authorities  is  a  letter  of  Schuyler  and  his  colleagues  to 
the  governor  and  council  of  Massachusetts,  15  February,  1600,  preserved 
in  the  Massachusetts  archives,  and  printed  in  the  third  volume  of  Mr. 
Whitmore's  Andros  Tracts.  La  Potherie,  Charlevoix,  Colden,  Smith, 
and  many  others,  give  accounts  at  second-hand. 

Johannes  Sander,  or  Alexander,  Glen,  was  the  son  of  a  Scotchman  of 
good  family.  He  was  usually  known  as  Captain  Sander.  The  French 
wrote  the  name  Cendre,  which  became  transformed  into  Condre,  and  then 
into  Coudre.  In  the  old  family  Bible  of  the  Glens,  still  preserved  at  the 
placed  named  by  them  Scotia,  near  Schenectady,  is  an  entry  in  Dutch 
recording  the  "murders  "  committed  by  the  French,  and  the  exemption 
accorded  to  Alexander  Glen  on  account  of  services  rendered  by  him  and 
his  family  to  French  prisoners.  See  Proceedings  of  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc, 
1816,  118. 

The  French  called  Schenectady  Corlaer  or  Corlar,  from  Van  Curler, 
its  founder.  Its  treatment  at  their  hands  was  ill  deserved,  as  its  inhab- 
itants, and  notably  Van  Curler  himself,  had  from  the  earliest  times  been 
the  protectors  of  French  captives  among  the  Mohawks.  Leisler  says 
that  only  one-sixth  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  unhurt. 


218  THE   THREE    WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

snow-shoes,  equipped  with  tomahawk  and  gun, 
to  chase  the  retiring  French.  Fifty  young  men 
from  Albany  joined  them ;  and  they  followed  the 
trail  of  the  enemy,  who,  with  the  help  of  their 
horses,  made  such  speed  over  the  ice  of  Lake 
Champlain  that  it  seemed  impossible  to  overtake 
them.     Thev  thought  the  pursuit  abandoned  ;  and, 

•SCI.  7  ' 

having  killed  and  eaten  most  of  their  horses,  and 
being  spent  with  fatigue,  they  moved  more  slowly 
as  they  neared  home,  when  a  band  of  Mohawks, 
who  had  followed  stanchly  on  their  track,  fell  upon 
a  party  of  stragglers,  and  killed  or  captured  fifteen 
or  more,  almost  within  sight  of  Montreal. 

Three  of  these  prisoners,  examined  by  Schuyler, 
declared  that  Frontenac  was  preparing  for  a  grand 
attack  on  Albany  in  the  spring.  In  the  political 
confusion  of  the  time,  the  place  was  not  in 
fighting  condition ;  and  Schuyler  appealed  for 
help  to  the  authorities  of  Massachusetts.  "  Dear 
neighbours  and  friends,  we  must  acquaint  you  that 
nevir  poor  People  in  the  world  was  in  a  worse  Con- 
dition than  we  are  at  Present,  no  Governour  nor 
Command,  no  money  to  forward  any  expedition, 
and  scarce  Men  enough  to  maintain  the  Citty. 
We  have  here  plainly  laid  the  case  before  you, 
and  doubt  not  but  you  will  so  much  take  it  to 
heart,  and  make  all  Eeadinesse  in  the  Spring  to 
invade  Canicla  by  water."  l  The  Mohawks  were 
of  the  same  mind.  Their  elders  came  down  to 
Albany  to  condole  with  their  Dutch   and  English 

1  Schuyler,  Wessell,  and  Van  Rensselaer  to  the  Governor  a)id  Council  of 
Massachusetts,  15  Feb.,  1690,  in  Andros  Tracts,  III.  114. 


1690.]  RETREAT   OF   THE   VICTORS.  219 

friends  on  the  late  disaster.  "  We  are  come," 
said  their  orator,  "  with  tears  in  our  eyes,  to 
lament  the  murders  committed  at  Schenectady 
by  the  perfidious  French.  Onontio  comes  to  our 
country  to  speak  of  peace,  but  war  is  at  his  heart. 
He  has  broken  into  our  house  at  both  ends,  once 
among  the  Senecas  and  once  here ;  but  we  hope 
to  be  revenged.  Brethren,  our  covenant  with 
you  is  a  silver  chain  that  cannot  rust  or  break.  We 
are  of  the  race  of  the  bear ;  and  the  bear  does  not 
yield,  so  long  as  there  is  a  drop  of  blood  in  his 
body.  Let  us  all  be  bears.  We  will  go  together 
with  an  army  to  ruin  the  country  of  the  French. 
Therefore,  send  in  all  haste  to  New  England. 
Let  them  be  ready  with  ships  and  great  guns  to 
attack  by  water,  while  we  attack  by  land." 1 
Schuyler  did  not  trust  his  red  allies,  who,  however, 
seem  on  this  occasion  to  have  meant  what  they 
said.  He  lost  no  time  in  sending  commissioners  to 
urge  the  several  governments  of  New  England  to 
a  combined  attack  on  the  French. 

New  England  needed  no  prompting  to  take  up 
arms ;  for  she  presently  learned  to  her  cost  that, 
though  feeble  and  prostrate,  Canada  could  sting. 
The  war-party  which  attacked  Schenectady  was,  as 
we  have  seen,  but  one  of  three  which  Frontenac 
had  sent  against  the  English  borders.  The  second, 
aimed  at  New  Hampshire,  left  Three  Rivers  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  January,  commanded  by  Francois 

1  Propositions  made  by  the  Sachems  of  ye.  Maquase  {Mohawk)  Castles  to 
ye.  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Commonality  of  ye.  Citty  of  Albany,  ye.  25  day  of 
february,  1690,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  II.  164-169. 


220  THE   THREE  WAR-PARTIES.  [1688-89, 

Hertel.  It  consisted  of  twenty-four  Frenchmen, 
twenty  Abenakis  of  the  Sokoki  band,  and  five 
Algonquins.  After  three  months  of  excessive  hard- 
ship in  the  vast  and  rugged  wilderness  that  inter- 
vened, they  approached  the  little  settlement  of 
Salmon  Falls  on  the  stream  which  separates  New 
Hampshire  from  Maine  ;  and  here  for  a  moment 
we  leave  them,  to  observe  the  state  of  this  unhappy 
frontier. 

It  was  twelve  years  and  more  since  the  great 
Indian  outbreak,  called  King  Philip's  War,  had 
carried  havoc  through  all  the  borders  of  New  Eng- 
land. After  months  of  stubborn  fighting,  the  fire 
was  quenched  in  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  and 
Connecticut;  but  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  it 
continued  to  burn  fiercely  till  the  treaty  of  Casco, 
in  1678.  The  principal  Indians  of  this  region  were 
the  tribes  known  collectively  as  the  Abenakis. 
The  French  had  established  relations  with  them 
through  the  missionaries ;  and  now,  seizing  the  op- 
portunity, they  persuaded  many  of  these  distressed 
and  exasperated  savages  to  leave  the  neighborhood 
of  the  English,  migrate  to  Canada,  and  settle  first 
at  Sillery  near  Quebec  and  then  at  the  falls  of  the 
Chaudiere.  Here  the  two  Jesuits,  Jacques  and 
Vincent  Bigot,  prime  agents  in  their  removal,  took 
them  in  charge ;  and  the  missions  of  St.  Francis 
became  villages  of  Abenaki  Christians,  like  the 
village  of  Iroquois  Christians  at  Saut  St.  Louis. 
In  both  cases,  the  emigrants  were  sheltered  under 
the  wing  of  Canada;  and  they  and  their  tomahawks 
were  always  at  her  service.    The  two  Bigots  spared 


1688-89.]  THE   ABENAKI   WAR.  221 

no  pains  to  induce  more  of  the  Abenakis  to  join 
these  mission  colonies.  They  were  in  good  measure 
successful,  though  the  great  body  of  the  tribe  still 
clung  to  their  ancient  homes  on  the  Saco,  the  Ken- 
nebec, and  the  Penobscot.1 

There  were  ten  years  of  critical  and  dubious 
peace  along  the  English  border,  and  then  the  war 
broke  out  again.  The  occasion  of  this  new  up- 
rising is  not  very  clear,  and  it  is  hardly  worth 
while  to  look  for  it.  Between  the  harsh  and  reck- 
less borderer  on  the  one  side,  and  the  fierce  savage 
on  the  other,  a  single  spark  might  at  any  moment 
set  the  frontier  in  a  blaze.  The  English,  however, 
believed  firmly  that  their  French  rivals  had  a  hand 
in  the  new  outbreak  ;  and,  in  fact,  the  Abenakis  told 
some  of  their  English  captives  that  Saint-Castin,  a 
French  adventurer  on  the  Penobscot,  gave  every 
Indian  who  would  go  to  the  war  a  pound  of  gun- 
powder, two  pounds  of  lead,  and  a  supply  of  to- 
bacco.2 The  trading  house  of  Saint-Castin,  which 
stood  on  ground  claimed  by  England,  had  lately 
been  plundered  by  Sir  Edmund  Anclros,  and  some 
of  the  English  had  foretold  that  an  Indian  war 
would  be  the  consequence ;  but  none  of  them  seem 
at  this  time  to  have  suspected  that  the  governor  of 
Canada  and  his  Jesuit  friends  had  any  part  in  their 
woes.     Yet  there  is  proof  that  this  was  the  case ; 

1  The  Ahenaki  migration  to  Canada  began  as  early  as  the  autumn 
of  1675  {Relation,  1676-77).  On  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  on  the  Chau- 
diere,  see  Bigot,  Relation,  1684 ;  Ibid.,  1685.  It  was  afterwards  removed 
to  the  river  St.  Francis. 

2  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  I.  326.  Compare  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.  282, 
476. 


222  THE   THREE    WAR-PARTIES.  [1688-89. 

for  Denonville  himself  wrote  to  the  minister  at 
Versailles  that  the  successes  of  the  Abenakis  on 
this  occasion  were  clue  to  the  "  good  understanding 
which  he  had  with  them,"  by  means  of  the  two 
brothers  Bigot  and  other  Jesuits.1 

Whatever  were  the  influences  that  kindled  and 
maintained  the  war,  it  spread  dismay  and  havoc 
through  the  English  settlements.  Anclros  at  first 
made  light  of  it,  and  complained  of  the  authorities 
of  Boston,  because  in  his  absence  they  had  sent 
troops  to  protect  the  settlers ;  but  he  soon  changed 
his  mind,  and  in  the  winter  went  himself  to  the 
scene  of  action  with  seven  hundred  men.  Not  an 
Indian  did  he  find.     They  had  all  withdrawn  into 

1  "En  partant  de  Canada,  j'ay  laisse  une  tres  grande  disposition  a 
attirer  au  Christianisme  la  plus  grande  partie  des  sauvages  Abenakis 
qui  abitent  les  bois  du  voisinage  de  Baston.  Pour  cela  il  faut  les  attirer 
a  la  mission  nouvellement  etablie  pres  Quebec  sous  le  nom  de  S.  Fran- 
cois de  Sale.  Je  l'ai  vue  en  peu  de  temps  au  nombre  de  six  cents  ames 
venues  du  voisinage  de  Baston.  Je  l'ay  laisse'e  en  estat  d'augmenter 
beaucoup  si  elle  est  protege'e  ;  j'y  ai  fait  quelque  de'pense  qui  n'est  pas 
inutile.  La  bonne  intelligence  que  fax  eue  avec  ces  sauvages  par  les  soins  des 
Je'suites,  et  surtout  des  deux  pkres  Bigot  J re  res  a  fait  le  succes  de  toutes  les  at- 
taques  qu'ils  ont  faites  sur  les  Anglois  cet  este',  aux  quels  ils  ont  enleve  16 
forts,  outre  celuy  de  Pemcuit  (Pemaquid)  ou  il  y  avoit  20  pieces  de 
canon,  et  leur  ont  tue'  plus  de  200  hommes."  Denonville  au  Ministre, 
Jan.,  1690. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  Indian  outbreak  began  in  the  summer  of 
1688,  when  there  was  peace  between  France  and  England.  News  of  the 
declaration  of  war  did  not  reach  Canada  till  July,  1689.  (Belmont.) 
Dover  and  other  places  were  attacked  in  June  of  the  same  year. 

The  intendantChampigny  says  that  most  of  the  Indians  who  attacked 
the  English  were  from  the  mission  villages  near  Quebec.  Champigny  au 
Ministre,  16  Nov.,  1689.  He  says  also  that  he  supplied  them  with  gun- 
powder for  the  war. 

The  "forts"  taken  by  the  Indians  on  the  Kennebec  at  this  time  were 
nothing  but  houses  protected  by  palisades.  They  were  taken  by  treach- 
ery and  surprise.  Lettre  du  Pere  Thury,  1689.  Thury  says  that  142 
men,  women,  and  children  were  killed. 


1688-89.]  REVOLUTION   AT  BOSTON.  223 

the  depths  of  the  frozen  forest.  Anclros  did  what 
he  could,  and  left  more  than  five  hundred  men  in 
garrison  on  the  Kennebec  and  the  Saco,  at  Casco 
Bay,  Pemaquid,  and  various  other  exposed  points. 
He  then  returned  to  Boston,  where  surprising 
events  awaited  him.  Early  in  April,  news  came 
that  the  Prince  of  Orange  had  landed  in  England. 
There  was  great  excitement.  The  people  of  the 
town  rose  against  Anclros,  whom  they  detested  as 
the  agent  of  the  despotic  policy  of  James  II.  They 
captured  his  two  forts  with  their  garrisons  of 
regulars,  seized  his  frigate  in  the  harbor,  placed 
him  and  his  chief  adherents  in  custody,  elected  a 
council  of  safety,  and  set  at  its  head  their  former 
governor,  Bradstreet,  an  old  man  of  eighty-seven. 
The  change  was  disastrous  to  the  eastern  frontier. 
Of  the  garrisons  left  for  its  protection  the  winter 
before,  some  were  partially  withdrawn  by  the  new 
council ;  while  others,  at  the  first  news  of  the  revolu- 
tion, mutinied,  seized  their  officers,  and  returned 
home.1   These  garrisons  were  withdrawn  or  reduced, 

1  Andros,  Account  of  Forces  in  Maine,  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  85. 
Compare  Andros  Tracts,  I.  177;  Ibid.,  II.  181,  193,  207,  213,  217;  Ibid., 
III.  232;  Report  of  Andros  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  722.  The  order  for 
the  reduction  of  the  garrisons  and  the  return  of  the  suspected  officers 
was  passed  at  the  first  session  of  the  council  of  safety,  20  April.  The 
agents  of  Massachusetts  at  London  endeavored  to  justify  it.  See  Andros 
Tracts,  III.  34.  The  only  regular  troops  in  New  England  were  two  com- 
panies brought  by  Andros.  Most  of  them  were  kept  at  Boston,  though 
a  few  men  and  officers  were  sent  to  the  eastern  garrison.  These  regulars 
were  regarded  with  great  jealousy,  and  denounced  as  "  a  crew  that  began 
to  teach  New  England  to  Drab,  Drink,  Blaspheme,  Curse,  and  Damm." 
Ibid.,  II.  50. 

In  their  hatred  of  Andros,  many  of  the  people  of  New  England  held 
the  groundless  and  foolish  belief  that  he  was  in  secret  collusion  with  the 
French  and  Indians.  Their  most  dangerous  domestic  enemies  were  some 
of  their  own  traders,  who  covertly  sold  arms  and  ammunition  to  the 
Indians. 


224  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES. 


partly  perhaps  because  the  hated  governor  had 
established  them,  partly  through  distrust  of  his 
officers,  some  of  whom  were  taken  from  the  reg- 
ulars, and  partly  because  the  men  were  wanted  at 
Boston.  The  order  of  withdrawal  cannot  be  too 
strongly  condemned.  It  was  a  part  of  the  bungling 
inefficiency  which  marked  the  military  management 
of  the  New  England  governments  from  the  close  of 
Philip's  war  to  the  peace  of  Utrecht. 

When  spring  opened,  the  Indians  turned  with 
redoubled  fury  against  the  defenceless  frontier, 
seized  the  abandoned  stockades,  and  butchered  the 
helpless  settlers.  Now  occurred  the  memorable 
catastrophe  at  Cocheco,  or  Dover.  Two  squaws 
came  at  evening  and  begged  lodging  in  the  pali- 
saded house  of  Major  Waldron.  At  night,  when 
all  was  still,  they  opened  the  gates  and  let  in  their 
savage  countrymen.  Waldron  was  eighty  years 
old.  He  leaped  from  his  bed,  seized  his  sword, 
and  drove  back  the  assailants  through  two  rooms  ; 
but,  as  he  turned  to  snatch  his  pistols,  they  stunned 
him  by  the  blow  of  a  hatchet,  bound  him  in  an 
arm-chair,  and  placed  him  on  a  table,  where  after 
torturing  him  they  killed  him  with  his  own  sword. 

The  crowning  event  of  the  war  was  the  capture 
of  Pemaquicl,  a  stockade  work,  mounted  with  seven 
or  eight  cannon.  Andros  had  placed  in  it  a  garri- 
son of  a  hundred  and  fiftv-six  men,  under  an  officer 
devoted  to  him.  Most  of  them  had  been  with- 
drawn by  the  council  of  safety ;  and  the  entire 
force  of  the  defenders  consisted  of  Lieutenant  James 
Weems  and   thirty  soldiers,  nearly  half  of  whom 


1689.]  CAPTURE   OF  PEMAQUID.  225 

appear  to  have  been  absent  at  the  time  of  the 
attack.1  The  Indian  assailants  were  about  a  hun- 
dred in  number,  all  Christian  converts  from  mission 
villages.  By  a  sudden  rush,  they  got  possession 
of  a  number  of  houses  behind  the  fort,  occupied 
only  by  women  and  children,  the  men  being  at 
their  work.2  Some  ensconced  themselves  in  the 
cellars,  and  others  behind  a  rock  on  the  seashore, 
whence  they  kept  up  a  close  and  galling  fire.  On 
the  next  clay,  Weems  surrendered,  under  a  promise 
of  life,  and,  as  the  English  say,  of  liberty  to  him- 
self and  all  his  followers.  The  fourteen  men  who 
had  survived  the  fire,  along  with  a  number  of  women 
and  children,  issued  from  the  gate,  upon  which  some 
were  butchered  on  the  spot,  and  the  rest,  except- 
ing Weems  and  a  few  others,  were  made  prisoners. 
In  other  respects,  the  behavior  of  the  victors  is 
said  to  have  been  creditable.  They  tortured  no- 
body, and  their  chiefs  broke  the  rum  barrels  in  the 
fort,  to  prevent  disorder.  Father  Thury,  a  priest 
of  the  seminary  of  Quebec,  was  present  at  the 
attack ;  and  the  assailants  were  a  part  of  his  Abe- 
naki flock.  Eeligion  was  one  of  the  impelling  forces 
of  the  war.     In  the  eyes  of  the  Indian  converts,  it 

1  Andros  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  85.  The  original  commanding 
officer,  Brockholes,  was  reputed  a  "  papist."  Hence  his  removal.  An- 
dros  Tracts,  III.  35.  Andros  says  that  but  eighteen  men  were  left  in  the 
fort.  A  list  of  them  in  the  archives  of  Massachusetts,  certified  by 
Weems  himself,  shows  that  there  were  thirty.  Doubt  is  thrown  on  this 
certificate  by  the  fact  that  the  object  of  it  was  to  obtain  a  grant  of 
money  in  return  for  advances  of  pay  made  by  Weems  to  his  soldiers. 
Weems  was  a  regular  officer.  A  number  of  letters  from  him,  showing 
his  condition  before  the  attack,  will  be  found  in  Johnston,  History  of 
Bristol,  Bremen,  and  Pemaquid. 

2  Captivity  of  John  Gyles.     Gyles  was  one  of  the  inhabitants. 

15 


226  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES. 


was  a  crusade  against  the  enemies  of  God.  They 
made  their  vows  to  the  Virgin  before  the  fight ; 
and  the  squaws,  in  their  distant  villages  on  the 
Penobscot,  told  unceasing  beads,  and  offered  un- 
ceasing prayers  for  victory.1 

The  war  now  ran  like  wildfire  through  the 
settlements  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  Six- 
teen fortified  houses,  with  or  without  defenders, 
are  said  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ; 
and  the  extensive  district  then  called  the  county 
of  Cornwall  was  turned  to  desolation.  Massachu- 
setts and  Plymouth  sent  hasty  levies  of  raw  men,  ill- 
armed  and  ill-officered,  to  the  scene  of  action.  At 
Casco  Bay,  they  met  a  large  body  of  Indians,  whom 
they  routed  after  a  desultory  fight  of  six  hours ; 
and  then,  as  the  approaching  winter  seemed  to 
promise  a  respite  from  attack,  most  of  them  were 
withdrawn  and  disbanded. 


1  Thury,  Relation  da  Combat  des  Canibas.  Compare  Hutchinson,  Hist. 
Mass.,  I.  352,  and  Mather,  Magnolia,  II.  590  (ed.  1853).  The  murder  of 
prisoners  after  the  capitulation  has  been  denied.  Thury  incidentally  con- 
firms the  statement,  when,  after  saying  that  he  exhorted  the  Indians  to 
refrain  from  drunkenness  and  cruelty,  he  adds  that,  in  consequence,  they 
did  not  take  a  single  scalp,  and  "  tuerent  sur  le  champ  ceux  qu'ils  voulurent 
titer." 

English  accounts  place  the  number  of  Indians  at  from  two  to  three 
hundred.  Besides  the  persons  taken  in  the  fort,  a  considerable  number 
were  previously  killed,  or  captured  in  the  houses  and  fields.  Those  who 
were  spared  were  carried  to  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Penobscot,  the  seat 
of  Thury's  mission.  La  Motte-Cadillac,  in  his  Memoire  mr  VAcadie,  1692, 
says  that  80  persons  in  all  were  killed ;  an  evident  exaggeration.  He 
adds  that  Weems  and  six  men  were  spared  at  the  request  of  the  chief, 
Madockawando.  The  taking  of  Pemaquid  is  remarkable  as  one  of  the 
very  rare  instances  in  which  Indians  have  captured  a  fortified  place 
otherwise  than  by  treachery  or  surprise.  The  exploit  was  undoubtedly 
due  to  French  prompting.  We  shall  see  hereafter  with  what  energy  and 
6uccess  Thury  incited  his  flock  to  war. 


1690.]  CAPTURE   OF   SALMON  FALLS.  227 

It  was  a  false  and  fatal  security.  Through  snow 
and  ice  and  storm,  Hertel  and  his  band  were  mov- 
ing on  their  prey.  On  the  night  of  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  March,  they  lay  hidden  in  the  forest 
that  bordered  the  farms  and  clearings  of  Salmon 
Falls.  Their  scouts  reconnoitred  the  place,  and 
found  a  fortified  house  with  two  stockade  forts, 
built  as  a  refuge  for  the  settlers  in  case  of  alarm. 
Towards  daybreak,  Hertel,  dividing  his  followers 
into  three  parties,  made  a  sudden  and  simultane- 
ous attack.  The  settlers,  unconscious  of  danger, 
were  in  their  beds.  No  watch  was  kept  even  in 
the  so-called  forts ;  and,  when  the  French  and  In- 
dians burst  in,  there  was  no  time  for  their  few 
tenants  to  gather  for  defence.  The  surprise  was 
complete  ;  and,  after  a  short  struggle,  the  assailants 
were  successful  at  every  point.  They  next  turned 
upon  the  scattered  farms  of  the  neighborhood, 
burned  houses,  barns,  and  cattle,  and  laid  the 
entire  settlement  in  ashes.  About  thirty  persons 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  were  tomahawked  or 
shot ;  and  fifty -four,  chiefly  women  and  children, 
were  made  prisoners.  Two  Indian  scouts  now 
brought  word  that  a  party  of  English  was  advanc- 
ing to  the  scene  of  havoc  from  Piscataqua,  or  Ports- 
mouth, not  many  miles  distant.  Hertel  called  his 
men  together,  and  began  his  retreat.  The  pur- 
suers, a  hundred  and  forty  in  number,  overtook 
him  about  sunset  at  Wooster  River,  where  the 
swollen  stream  was  crossed  by  a  narrow  bridge. 
Hertel  and  his  followers  made  a  stand  on  the  far- 
ther bank,  killed  and  wounded  a  number  of  the  Eng- 


228  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

lish  as  they  attempted  to  cross,  kept  npa  brisk  fire 
on  the  rest,  held  them  in  check  till  night,  and  then 
continued  their  retreat.  The  prisoners,  or  some  of 
them,  were  given  to  the  Indians,  who  tortured  one 
or  more  of  the  men,  and  killed  and  tormented  chil- 
dren and  infants  with  a  cruelty  not  always  equalled 
by  their  heathen  countrymen.1 

Hertel  continued  his  retreat  to  one  of  the  Abe- 
naki villages  on  the  Kennebec.  Here  he  learned 
that  a  band  of  French  and  Indians  had  lately 
passed  southward  on  their  way  to  attack  the  Eng- 
lish fort  at  Casco  Bay,  on  the  site  of  Portland. 
Leaving  at  the  viilage  his  eldest  son,  who  had 
been  badly  wounded  at  Wooster  River,  he  set  out 
to  join  them  with  thirty-six  of  his  followers.  The 
band  in  question  was  Frontenac's  third  war-party. 
It  consisted  of  fifty  French  and  sixty  Abenakis 
from  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  ;  and  it  had  left 
Quebec  in  January,  under  a  Canadian  officer  named 

1  The  archives  of  Massachusetts  contain  various  papers  on  the  dis- 
aster at  Salmon  Falls.-  Among  them  is  the  report  of  the  authorities  of 
Portsmouth  to  the  governor  and  council  at  Boston,  giving  many  par- 
ticulars, and  asking  aid.  They  estimate  the  killed  and  captured  at 
upwards  of  eighty,  of  whom  about  one  fourth  were  men.  They  say  that 
about  twenty  houses  were  burnt,  and  mention  but  one  fort.  The  other, 
mentioned  in  the  French  accounts,  was  probably  a  palisaded  house. 
Speaking  of  the  combat  at  the  bridge,  they  say,  "  We  fought  as  long  as 
we  could  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  We  lost  two  killed  and  six  or 
seven  wounded,  one  mortally."  The  French  accounts  say  fourteen. 
This  letter  is  accompanied  by  the  examination  of  a  French  prisoner, 
taken  the  same  day.  Compare  Mather,  Magnolia,  II.  595;  Belknap, 
Hist.  New  Hampshire,  I.  207  ;  Journal  of  Rev.  John  Pike  (Proceedinr/s  oj 
Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  1875  ) ;  and  the  French  accounts  of  Monseignat  and  La 
Potherie.  Charlevoix  adds  various  embellishments,  not  to  be  found  in 
the  original  sources.  Later  writers  copy  and  improve  upon  him,  until 
Hertel  is  pictured  as  charging  the  pursuers  sword  in  hand,  while  the 
English  fly  in  disorder  before  him. 


1690.]  CASCO  BAY.  229 

Portneuf  and  his  lieutenant,  Courtemanche.  They 
advanced  at  their  leisure,  often  stopping  to  hunt, 
till  in  May  they  were  joined  on  the  Kennebec  by 
a  large  body  of  Indian  warriors.  On  the  twenty- 
fifth,  Portneuf  encamped  in  the  forest  near  the 
English  forts,  with  a  force  which,  including  Hertel's 
party,  the  Indians  of  the  Kennebec,  and  another 
band  led  by  Saint-Castin  from  the  Penobscot, 
amounted  to  between  four  and  five  hundred  men.1 
Fort  Loyal  was  a  palisade  work  with  eight  can- 
non, standing  on  rising  ground  by  the  shore  of  the 
bay,  at  what  is  now  the  foot  of  India  Street  in  the 
city  of  Portland.  Not  far  distant  were  four  block- 
houses and  a  village  which  they  were  designed  to 
protect.  These  with  the  fort  were  occupied  by  about 
a  hundred  men,  chiefly  settlers  of  the  neighborhood, 
under  Captain  Sylvanus  Davis,  a  prominent  trader. 
Around  lay  rough  and  broken  fields  stretching  to 
the  skirts  of  the  forest  half  a  mile  distant.  Some 
of  Portneuf's  scouts  met  a  straggling  Scotchman, 
and  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  killing 
him.  Their  scalp-yells  alarmed  the  garrison,  and 
thus  the  advantage  of  surprise  was  lost.  Davis 
resolved  to  keep  his  men  within  their  defences, 
and  to  stand  on  his  guard;  but  there  was  little 
or  no  discipline  in  the  yeoman  garrison,  and 
thirty  young  volunteers  under  Lieutenant  Thad- 
deus  Clark  sallied  out  to  find  the  enemy.  They 
were  too  successful ;  for,  as  they  approached  the 
top  of  a  hill  near  the  woods,  they  observed  a  num- 
ber of  cattle   staring  with  a  scared  look  at  some 

1  Declaration  of  Sylvanus  Davis  ;  Mather,  Magnolia,  II.  603. 


230  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1C90. 

object  on  the  farther  side  of  a  fence;  and,  rightly 
judging  that  those  they  sought  were  hidden  there, 
they  raised  a  cheer,  and  ran  to  the  spot.  They 
were  met  by  a  fire  so  close  and  deadly  that  half 
their  number  were  shot  down.  A  crowd  of  Indians 
leaped  the  fence  and  rushed  upon  the  survivors, 
who  ran  for  the  fort ;  but  only  four,  all  of  whom 
were  wounded,  succeeded  in  reaching  it.1 

The  men  in  the  blockhouses  withdrew  under 
cover  of  night  to  Fort  Loyal,  where  the  whole 
force  of  the  English  was  now  gathered  along  with 
their  frightened  families.  Portneuf  determined  to 
besiege  the  place  in  form ;  and,  after  burning  the 
village,  and  collecting  tools  from  the  abandoned 
blockhouses,  he  opened  his  trenches  in  a  deep  gully 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  fort,  where  his  men  were 
completely  protected.  They  worked  so  well  that 
in  three  clays  they  had  wormed  their  way  close  to 
the  palisade  ;  and,  covered  as  they  were  in  their 
burrows,  they  lost  scarcely  a  man,  while  their  ene- 
mies suffered  severely.  They  now  summoned  the 
fort  to  surrender.  Davis  asked  for  a  delay  of  six 
days,  which  was  refused ;  and  in  the  morning  the 
fight  began  again.  For  a  time  the  fire  was  sharp 
and  heavy.  The  English  wasted  much  powder  in 
vain  efforts  to  dislodge  the  besiegers  from  their 
trenches;  till  at  length,  seeing  a  machine  loaded 
with  a  tar-barrel  and  other  combustibles  shoved 
against  their  palisades,  they  asked  for  a  parley. 
Up  to  this  time,  Davis  had  supposed  that  his  assail- 
ants were  all  Indians,  the  French  being  probably 

1  Relation  de  Monseignat ;  La  Potherie,  III.  79. 


1690.]  THE   ENGLISH   SURRENDER.  231 

dressed  and  painted  like  their  red  allies.  "  We 
demanded,"  he  says,  "  if  there  were  any  French 
among  them,  and  if  they  would  give  us  quarter. 
They  answered  that  they  were  Frenchmen,  and 
that  they  would  give  us  good  quarter.  Upon  this, 
we  sent  out  to  them  again  to  know  from  whence 
they  came,  and  if  they  would  give  us  good  quarter 
for  our  men,  women,  and  children,  both  wounded 
and  sound,  and  (to  demand)  that  we  should  have 
liberty  to  march  to  the  next  English  town,  and 
have  a  guard  for  our  defence  and  safety ;  then  we 
would  surrender ;  and  also  that  the  governour  of 
the  French  should  hold  up  his  hand  and  swear  by 
the  great  and  ever  living  God  .  that  the  several 
articles  should  be  performed :  all  which  he  did 
solemnly  swear." 

The  survivors  of  the  garrison  now  filed  through 
the  gate,  and  laid  clown  their  arms.  They  with 
their  women  and  children  were  thereupon  aban- 
doned to  the  Indians,  who  murdered  many  of  them, 
and  carried  off  the  rest.  When  Davis  protested 
against  this  breach  of  faith,  he  was  told  that  he  and 
his  countrymen  were  rebels  against  their  lawful 
king,  James  II.  After  spiking  the  cannon,  burning 
the  fort,  and  destroying  all  the  neighboring  settle- 
ments, the  triumphant  allies  departed  for  their  re- 
spective homes,  leaving  the  slain  unburied  where 
they  had  fallen.1 

1  Their  remains  were  buried  by  Captain  Church,  three  years  later. 

On  the  capture  of  Fort  Loyal,  compare  Monseignat  and  La  Potherie 
with  Mather,  Magnolia,  II.  603,  and  the  Declaration  of  Sylvanus  Davis, 
in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  101.  Davis  makes  curious  mistakes  in  regard  to 
French  names,  his  rustic  ear  not  being  accustomed  to  the  accents  of  the 
Gallic  tongue.     He  calls  Courtemanche,  Monsieur  Corte  de  March,  and 


232  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

Davis  with  three  or  four  others,  more  fortunate 
than  their  companions,  was  kept  by  the  French, 
and  carried  to  Canada.  "  They  were  kind  to  me," 
he  says,  "  on  my  travels  through  the  country.  I 
arrived  at  Quebeck  the  14th  of  June,  where  I  was 
civilly  treated  by  the  gentry,  and  soon  carried  to 
the  fort  before  the  governour,  the  Earl  of  Fron- 
tenack."  Frontenac  told  him  that  the  governor 
and  people  of  New  York  were  the  cause  of  the 
war,  since  they  had  stirred  up  the  Iroquois  against 
Canada,  and  prompted  them  to  torture  French 
prisoners.1  Davis  replied  that  New  York  and  New 
England  were  distinct  and  separate  governments, 
each  of  which  must  answer  for  its  own  deeds ;  and 
that  New  England  would  gladly  have  remained 
at  peace  with  the  French,  if  they  had  not  set  on 
the  Indians  to  attack  her  peaceful  settlers.  Fron- 
tenac admitted  that  the  people  of  New  England 
were  not  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light  with 
those  who  had  stirred  up  the  Indians  against 
Canada ;  but  he  added  that  they  were  all  rebels  to 
their  king,  and  that  if  they  had  been  good  subjects 
there  would  have  been  no  war.     "  I  do  believe,'' 

Portneuf,  Monsieur  Burniffe  or  Burneffe.  To  these  contemporary  au- 
thorities may  be  added  the  account  given  by  Le  Clercq,  EtaUissement  de 
la  Foy,  II.  393,  and  a  letter  from  Governor  Bradstreet  of  Massachusetts 
to  Jacob  Leisler  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  II.  259.  The  French  writers  of 
course  say  nothing  of  any  violation  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  victors, 
but  they  admit  that  the  Indians  kept  most  of  the  prisoners.  Scarcely 
was  the  fort  taken,  when  four  English  vessels  appeared  in  the  harbor, 
too  late  to  save  it.  Willis,  in  his  History  of  Port/ and  (ed.  1865),  gives  a 
map  of  Fort  Loyal  and  the  neighboring  country.  In  the  Massachusetts 
archives  is  a  letter  from  Davis,  written  a  few  days  before  the  attack, 
complaining  that  his  fort  is  in  wretched  condition. 

1  I  am  unable  to  discover  the  foundation  of  this  last  charge. 


1690.]  THE   CANADIANS  ENCOURAGED.  233 

observes  the  captive  Puritan,  "  that  there  was  a . 
popish  design  against  the  Protestant  interest  in 
New  England  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world."  He 
told  Frontenac  of  the  pledge  given  by  his  con- 
queror, and  the  violation  of  it.  "  We  were  promised 
good  quarter,"  he  reports  himself  to  have  said, 
"  and  a  guard  to  conduct  us  to  our  English  ;  but 
now  we  are  made  captives  and  slaves  in  the  hands 
of  the  heathen.  I  thought  I  had  to  do  with  Chris- 
tians that  would  have  been  careful  of  their  engage- 
ments, and  not  to  violate  and  break  their  oaths. 
Whereupon  the  governour  shaked  his  head,  and,  as 
I  was  told,  was  very  angry  with  Burniffe  (Port- 
neuf)" 

Frontenac  was  pleased  with  his  prisoner,  whom 
he  calls  a  bonhomme.  He  told  him  in  broken  Eng- 
lish to  take  courage,  and  promised  him  good  treat- 
ment; to  which  Davis  replied  that  his  chief  con- 
cern was  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  captives  in  the 
hands  of  the  Indians.  Some  of  these  were  after- 
wards ransomed  by  the  French,  and  treated  with 
much  kindness,  as  was  also  Davis  himself,  to  whom 
the  count  gave  lodging  in  the  chateau. 

The  triumphant  success  of  his  three  war-parties 
produced  on  the  Canadian  people  all  the  effect 
that  Frontenac  had  expected.  This  effect  was 
very  apparent,  even  before  the  last  two  victories 
had  become  known.  "  You  cannot  believe,  Mon- 
seigneur,"  wrote  the  governor,  speaking  of  the 
capture  of  Schenectady,  "  the  joy  that  this  slight 
success  has  caused,  and  how  much  it  contributes 
to  raise  the  people  from  their  dejection  and  terror." 


234  THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES. 


One  untoward  accident  damped  the  general  joy 
for  a  moment.  A  party  of  Iroquois  Christians  from 
the  Saut  St.  Louis  had  made  a  raid  against  the 
English  borders,  and  were  returning  with  prisoners. 
One  evening,  as  they  were  praying  at  their  camp 
near  Lake  Champlain,  they  were  discovered  by  a 
band  of  Algonquins  and  Abenakis  who  were  out 
on  a  similar  errand,  and  who,  mistaking  them  for 
enemies,  set  upon  them  and  killed  several  of  their 
number,  among  whom  was  Kryn,  the  great  Mo- 
hawk, chief  of  the  mission  of  the  Saut.  This  mis- 
hap was  near  causing  a  rupture  between  the  best 
Indian  allies  of  the  colony ;  but  the  difference  was 
at  length  happily  adjusted,  and  the  relatives  of  the 
slain  propitiated  by  gifts.1 

1  The  attacking  party  consisted  of  some  of  the  Abenakis  and  Algon- 
quins who  had  been  with  Hertel,  and  who  had  left  the  main  body  after 
the  destruction  of  Salmon  Falls.  Several  of  them  were  killed  in  the 
skirmish,  and  among  the  rest  their  chief,  Hopehood,  or  Woliawa,  "  that 
memorable  tygre,"  as  Cotton  Mather  calls  him. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

1690. 

MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC. 

English  Schemes.  —  Capture  of  Port  Royal. — Acadia  reduced. 
—  Conduct  of  Phips.  —  His  History  and  Character.  —  Boston 
in  Arms. — A  Puritan  Crusade.  —  The  March  from  Albany. — 
Frontenac  and  the  Council.  —  Frontenac  at  Montreal. — 
His  War  Dance.  —  An  Abortive  Expedition.  —  An  English 
Raid. —  Frontenac  at  Quebec. — Defences  of  the  Town. — 
The  Enemy  arrives. 

When  Frontenac  sent  his  war-parties  against 
New  York  and  New  England,  it  was  in  the  hope 
not  only  of  reanimating  the  Canadians,  but  also  of 
teaching  the  Iroquois  that  they  could'  not  safely 
rely  on  English  aid,  and  of  inciting  the  Abenakis 
to  renew  their  attacks  on  the  border  settlements. 
He  imagined,  too,  that  the  British  colonies  could 
be  chastised  into  prudence  and  taught  a  policy  of 
conciliation  towards  their  Canadian  neighbors ;  but 
he  mistook  the  character  of  these  bold  and  vigor- 
ous though  not  martial  communities.  The  plan  of 
a  combined  attack  on  Canada  seems  to  have  been 
first  proposed  by  the  Iroquois  ;  and  New  York  and 
the  several  governments  of  New  England,  smart- 
ing under  French  and  Indian  attacks,  hastened  to 
embrace  it.  Early  in  May,  a  congress  of  their 
delegates  was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York.     It 


236  MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1G90. 

was  agreed  that  the  colony  of  that  name  should 
furnish  four  hundred  men,  and  Massachusetts, 
Plymouth,  and  Connecticut  three  hundred  and 
fifty-five  jointly ;  while  the  Iroquois  afterwards 
added  their  worthless  pledge  to  join  the  expedi- 
tion with  nearly  all  their  warriors.  The  colonial 
militia  were  to  rendezvous  at  Albany,  and  thence 
advance  upon  Montreal  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain. 
Mutual  jealousies  made  it  difficult  to  agree  upon  a 
commander ;  but  Winthrop  of  Connecticut  was  at 
length  placed  at  the  head  of  the  feeble  and  dis- 
cordant  band. 

While  Montreal  was  thus  assailed  by  land,  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  other  New  England  colonies  were 
invited  to  attack  Quebec  by  sea ;  a  task  formidable 
in  difficulty  and  in  cost,  and  one  that  imposed  on 
them  an  inordinate  share  in  the  burden  of  the 
war.  Massachusetts  hesitated.  She  had  no  money, 
and  she  was  already  engaged  in  a  less  remote  and 
less  critical  enterprise.  During  the  winter,  her 
commerce  had  suffered  from  French  cruisers,  which 
found  convenient  harborage  at  Port  Royal,  whence 
also  the  hostile  Indians  were  believed  to  draw  sup- 
plies. Seven  vessels,  with  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  sailors,  were  impressed,  and  from  four  to  five 
hundred  militia-men  were  drafted  for  the  service.1 
That  rugged  son  of  New  England,  Sir  William  Phips, 
was  appointed  to  the  command.  He  sailed  from 
Nantasket  at  the  end  of  April,  reached  Port  Royal 

1  Summary  of  Muster  Roll,  appended  to  A  Journal  of  the  Expedition 
from  Boston  ar/ainst  Port  Royal,  among  the  papers  of  George  Chalmers  in 
the  Library  of  Harvard  College. 


1690.]  ATTACK  ON  PORT  ROYAL.  237 

on  the  eleventh  of  May,  landed  his  militia,  and 
summoned  Meneval,  the  governor,  to  surrender. 
The  fort,  though  garrisoned  by  about  seventy 
soldiers,  was  scarcely  in  condition  to  repel  an 
assault;  and  Meneval  yielded  without  resistance, 
first  stipulating,  according  to  French  accounts, 
that  private  property  should  be  respected,  the 
church  left  untouched,  and  the  troops  sent  to 
Quebec  or  to  France.1  It  was  found,  however, 
that  during  the  parley  a  quantity  of  goods,  be- 
longing partly  to  the  king  and  partly  to  merchants 
of  the  place,  had  been  carried  off  and  hidden 
in  the  woods.2  Phips  thought  this  a  sufficient 
pretext  for  plundering  the  merchants,  imprisoning 
the  troops,  and  desecrating  the  church.  "  We 
cut  down  the  cross,"  writes  one  of  his  followers, 
"  rifled  their  church,  pulled  down  their  high  altar, 
and  broke  their  images."  3  The  houses  of  the  two 
priests  were  also  pillaged.  The  people  were  prom- 
ised security  to  life,  liberty,  and  property,  on 
condition  of  swearing  allegiance  to  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary ;  "  which,"  says  the  journalist, 
"  they  did  with  great  acclamation,"  and  thereupon 
they  were  left  unmolested.4     The  lawful  portion 

1  Relation  de  la  Prise  da  Port  Royal  par  les  Anglois  de  Baston,  piece 
anonyme,  27  Mai,  1690. 

2  Journal  of  the  Expedition  from  Boston  against  Port  Royal. 
8  Ibid. 

4  Relation  de  Monseignat.  Nevertheless,  a  considerable  number  seem 
to  have  refused  the  oath,  and  to  have  been  pillaged.  The  Relation  de  la 
Prise  du  Port  Royal  par  les  Anglois  de  Baston,  written  on  the  spot  imme- 
diately after  the  event,  says  that,  except  that  nobody  was  killed,  the 
place  was  treated  as  if  taken  by  assault.  Meneval  also  says  that  the 
inhabitants  were  pillaged.  Meneval  an  Ministre,  29  Mai,  1690;  also  Rap- 
port de  Champigny,  Oct.,  1690.     Meneval  describes  the  New  England  men 


238  MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

of  the  booty  included  twenty-one  pieces  of  can- 
non, with  a  considerable  sum  of  money  belong- 
ing to  the  king.  The  smaller  articles,  many 
of  which  were  taken  from  the  merchants  and 
from  such  of  the  settlers  as  refused  the  oath, 
were  packed  in  hogsheads  and  sent  on  board 
the  ships.  Phips  took  no  measures  to  secure  his 
conquest,  though  he  commissioned  a  president  and 
six  councillors,  chosen  from  the  inhabitants,  to 
govern  the  settlement  till  farther  orders  from  the 
crown  or  from  the  authorities  of  Massachusetts. 
The  president  was  directed  to  constrain  nobody  in 
the  matter  of  religion ;  and  he  was  assured  of  pro- 
tection and  support  so  long  as  he  remained  "  faith- 
ful to  our  government,"  that  is,  the  government 
of  Massachusetts.1  The  little  Puritan  common- 
wealth already  gave  itself  airs  of  sovereignty. 

Phips  now  sent  Captain  Alden,  who  had  already 
taken  possession  of  Saint-Castin's  post  at  Penob- 
scot, to  seize  upon  La  Heve,  Chedabucto,  and 
other  stations  on  the  southern  coast.  Then,  after 
providing  for  the  reduction  of  the  settlements  at 
the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  he  sailed,  with 
the  rest  of  the  fleet,  for  Boston,  where  he  arrived 
triumphant  on  the  thirtieth  of  May,  bringing  with 
him,  as  prisoners,  the  French  governor,  fifty-nine 
soldiers,  and  the  two  priests,  Petit  and  Trouve. 
Massachusetts  had  made  an  easy  conquest  of  all 
Acadia ;  a  conquest,  however,  which  she  had  neither 

as  excessively  irritated  at  the  late  slaughter  of  settlers  at  Salmon  Falls 
and  elsewhere. 

1  Journal  of  the  Expedition,  etc. 


1690.]  CONDUCT   OF  PHIPS.  239 

the  men  nor  the  money  to  secure    by  sufficient 
garrisons. 

The  conduct  of  the  New  England  commander 
in  this  affair  does  him  no  credit.  It  is  true  that 
no  blood  was  spilt,  and  no  revenge  taken  for  the 
repeated  butcheries  of  unoffending  and  defenceless 
settlers.  It  is  true,  also,  that  the  French  appear  to 
have  acted  in  bad  faith.  But  Phips,  on  the  other 
hand,  displayed  a  scandalous  rapacity.  Charle- 
voix says  that  he  robbed  Meneval  of  all  his  money ; 
but  Meneval  himself  affirms  that  he  gave  it  to  the 
English  commander  for  safe  keeping,  and  that 
Phips  and  his  wife  would  return  neither  the  money 
nor  various  other  articles  belonging  to  the  captive 
governor,  whereof  the  following  are  specified : 
"  Six  silver  spoons,  six  silver  forks,  one  silver  cup 
in  the  shape  of  a  gondola,  a  pair  of  pistols,  three 
new  wigs,  a  gray  vest,  four  pair  of  silk  garters, 
two  dozen  of  shirts,  six  vests  of  dimity,  four  night- 
caps with  lace  edgings,  all  my  table  service  of  fine 
tin,  all  my  kitchen  linen,"  and  many  other  items 
which  give  an  amusing  insight  into  Meneval's 
housekeeping.1 

1  An  Account  of  the  Silver  and  Effects  ivhich  Mr.  Phips  keeps  bach  from 
Mr.  Meneval,  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  115. 

Monseignat  and  La  Potherie  describe  briefly  this  expedition  against 
Port  Royal.  In  the  archives  of  Massachusetts  are  various  papers  con- 
cerning it,  among  which  are  Governor  Bradstreet's  instructions  to 
Phips,  and  a  complete  invoice  of  the  plunder.  Extracts  will  be  found 
in  Professor  Bowen's  Life  of  Phips,  in  Sparks's  American  Biography,  VII. 
There  is  also  an  order  of  council,  "  Whereas  the  French  soldiers  lately 
brought  to  this  place  from  Port  Royal  did  surrender  on  capitulation,"  they 
shall  be  set  at  liberty.  Meneval,  Lettre  au  Ministre,  29  Mai,  1690,  says 
that  there  was  a  capitulation,  and  that  Phips  broke  it.  Perrot,  former 
governor  of  Acadia,  accuses  both  Meneval  and  the  priest  Petit  of  being 


240  MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1G90. 

Meneval,  with  the  two  priests,  was  confined  in 
a  house  at  Boston,  under  guard.  He  says  that  he 
petitioned  the  governor  and  council  for  redress ; 
"  but,  as  they  have  little  authority  and  stand  in 
fear  of  Phips,  who  is  supported  by  the  rabble,  to 
which  he  himself  once  belonged,  and  of  which  he 
is  now  the  chief,  they  would  do  nothing  for  me."  1 
This  statement  of  Meneval  is  not  quite  correct :  for 
an  order  of  the  council  is  on  record,  requiring  Phips 
to  restore  his  chest  and  clothes ;  and,  as  the  order 
received  no  attention,  Governor  Braclstreet  wrote 
to  the  refractory  commander  a  note,  enjoining  him 
to  obey  it  at  once.2  Phips  thereupon  gave '  up 
some  of  the  money  and  the  worst  part  of  the  cloth- 
ing, still  keeping  the  rest.3  After  long  delay,  the 
council  released  Meneval :  upon  which,  Phips  and 
the  populace  whom  he  controlled  demanded  that 
he  should  be  again  imprisoned ;  but  the  "  honest 
people  "  of  the  town  took  his  part,  his  persecutor 
was  forced  to  desist,  and  he  set  sail  covertly  for 
France.4  This,  at  least,  is  his  own  account  of  the 
affair. 

As  Phips  was  to  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
events  that  immediately  followed,  some  notice  of 

in  collusion  with  the  English.     Perrot  a  de  Chevry,  2  Juin,  1690.     The 
same  charge  is  made  as  regards  Petit  in  Memoire  sur  I'Acadie,  1691. 

Charlevoix's  account  of  this  affair  is  inaccurate.  He  ascrihes  to 
Phips  acts  which  took  place  weeks  after  his  return,  such  as  the  capture 
of  Chedahucto. 

1  Me'moire  pre'sente'  a  M.  de  Ponchartrain  par  M.  de  Meneval,  6  Avril, 
1691. 

2  This  note,  dated  7  Jan.,  1691,  is  cited  by  Bowen  in  his  Life  of  Phips, 
Sparks's  American  Biography,  VII. 

3  Memoire  de  Meneval. 
*  Ibid. 


1690.]  SIR   WILLIAM   PHIPS.  241 

him  will  not  be  amiss.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
one  of  twenty-six  children,  all  of  the  same  mother, 
and  was  born  in  1650  at  a  rude  border  settlement, 
since  called  Woolwich,  on  the  Kennebec.  His 
parents  were  ignorant  and  poor ;  and  till  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  was  employed  in  keeping  sheep. 
Such  a  life  ill  suited  his  active  and  ambitious 
nature.  To  better  his  condition,  he  learned  the 
trade  of  ship-carpenter,  and,  in  the  exercise  of  it, 
came  to  Boston,  where  he  married  a  widow  with 
some  property,  beyond  him  in  years,  and  much 
above  him  in  station.  About  this  time,  he  learned 
to  read  and  write,  though  not  too  well,  for  his  sig- 
nature is  like  that  of  a  peasant.  Still  aspiring  to 
greater  things,  he  promised  his  wife  that  he  would 
one  clay  command  a  king's  ship  and  own  a  "  fair 
brick  house  in  the  Green  Lane  of  North  Boston," 
a  quarter  then  occupied  by  citizens  of  the  better 
class.  He  kept  his  word  at  both  points.  Fortune 
was  inauspicious  to  him  for  several  years ;  till  at 
length,  under  the  pressure  of  reverses,  he  conceived 
the  idea  of  conquering  fame  and  wealth  at  one 
stroke,  by  fishing  up  the  treasure  said  to  be  stored  in 
a  Spanish  galleon  wrecked  fifty  years  before  some- 
where in  the  West  Indian  seas.  Full  of  this  project, 
he  went  to  England,  where,  through  influences  which 
do  not  plainly  appear,  he  gained  a  hearing  from 
persons  in  high  places,  and  induced  the  admiralty 
to  adopt  his  scheme.  A  frigate  was  given  him, 
and  he  sailed  for  the  West  Indies ;  whence,  after  a 
long  search,  he  returned  unsuccessful,  though  not 
without  adventures  which  proved  his  mettle.     It 

16 


242  MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

was  the  epocli  of  the  buccaneers  ;  and  his  crew,  tired 
of  a  vain  and  toilsome  search,  came  to  the  quarter- 
deck, armed  with  cutlasses,  and  demanded  of  their 
captain  that  he  should  turn  pirate  with  them. 
Phips,  a  tall  and  powerful  man,  instantly  fell  upon 
them  with  his  fists,  knocked  down  the  ringleaders, 
and  awed  them  all  into  submission.  Not  long  after, 
there  was  a  more  formidable  mutiny ;  but,  with 
great  courage  and  address,  he  quelled  it  for  a  time, 
and  held  his  crew  to  their  duty  till  he  had  brought 
the  ship  into  Jamaica,  and  exchanged  them  for 
better  men. 

Though  the  leaky  condition  of  the  frigate  com- 
pelled him  to  abandon  the  search,  it  was  not  till  he 
had  gained  information  which  he  thought  would 
lead  to  success;  and,  on  his  return,  he  inspired 
such  confidence  that  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  with 
other  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  gave  him  a  fresh 
outfit,  and  despatched  him  again  on  his  Quixotic 
errand.  This  time  he  succeeded,  found  the  wreck, 
and  took  from  it  gold,  silver,  and  jewels  to  the 
value  of  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling. 
The  crew  now  leagued  together  to  seize  the  ship 
and  divide  the  prize;  and  Phips,  pushed  to  ex- 
tremity, was  compelled  to  promise  that  every 
man  of  them  should  have  a  share  in  the  treasure, 
even  if  he  paid  it  himself.  On  reaching  England, 
he  kept  his  pledge  so  well  that,  after  redeeming  it, 
only  sixteen  thousand  pounds  was  left  as  his  por- 
tion, which,  however,  was  an  ample  fortune  in  the 
New  England  of  that  day.  He  gained,  too,  what 
he  valued  almost  as  much,  the  honor  of  knight- 


1690.]  SIR  WILLIAM  PHIPS.  243 

hood.  Tempting  offers  were  made  him  of  employ- 
ment in  the  royal  service  ;  but  he  had  an  ardent 
love  for  his  own  country,  and  thither  he  presently 
returned. 

Phips  was  a  rude  sailor,  bluff,  prompt,  and  chol- 
eric. He  never  gave  proof  of  intellectual  capacity  ; 
and  such  of  his  success  in  life  as  he  did  not  owe  to 
good  luck  was  due  probably  to  an  energetic  and 
adventurous  spirit,  aided  by  a  blunt  frankness  of 
address  that  pleased  the  great,  and  commended  him 
to  their  favor.  Two  years  after  the  expedition  to 
Port  Royal,  the  king,  under  the  new  charter,  made 
him  governor  of  Massachusetts,  a  post  for  which, 
though  totally  unfit,  he  had  been  recommended  by 
the  elder  Mather,  who,  like  his  son  Cotton,  expected 
to  make  use  of  him.  He  carried  his  old  habits  into 
his  new  office,  cudgelled  Brinton,  the  collector  of 
the  port,  and  belabored  Captain  Short  of  the  royal 
navy  with  his  cane.  Far  from  trying  to  hide  the 
obscurity  of  his  origin,  he  leaned  to  the  opposite 
foible,  and  was  apt  to  boast  of  it,  delighting  to 
exhibit  himself  as  a  self -made  man.  New  England 
writers  describe  him  as  honest  in  private  dealings ; 
but,  in  accordance  with  his  coarse  nature,  he  seems 
to  have  thought  that  any  thing  is  fair  in  war.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  was  warmly  patriotic,  and  was 
almost  as  ready  to  serve  New  England  as  to  serve 
himself.1 

When  he  returned  from  Port  Royal,  he  found 

1  An  excellent  account  of  Phips  will  be  found  in  Professor  Bowen's 
biographical  notice,  already  cited.  His  Life  by  Cotton  Mather  is  exces- 
sively eulogistic. 


244  MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

Boston  alive  with  martial  preparation.  A  bold 
enterprise  was  afoot.  Massachusetts  of  her  own 
motion  had  resolved  to  attempt  the  conquest  of 
Quebec.  She  and  her  sister  colonies  had  not  yet 
recovered  from  the  exhaustion  of  Philip's  war, 
and  still  less  from  the  disorders  that  attended  the 
expulsion  of  the  royal  governor  and  his  adherents. 
The  public  treasury  was  empty,  and  the  recent 
expeditions  against  the  eastern  Indians  had  been 
supported  by  private  subscription.  "Worse  yet, 
New  England  had  no  competent  military  com- 
mander. The  Puritan  gentlemen  of  the  original 
emigration,  some  of  whom  were  as  well  fitted  for 
military  as  for  civil  leadership,  had  passed  from 
the  stage  •  and,  by  a  tendency  which  circumstances 
made  inevitable,  they  had  left  none  behind  them 
equally  qualified.  The  great  Indian  conflict  of 
fifteen  years  before  had,  it  is  true,  formed  good 
partisan  chiefs,  and  proved  that  the  New  England 
yeoman,  defending  his  family  and  his  hearth,  was 
not  to  be  surpassed  in  stubborn  fighting  ;  but,  since 
Anclros  and  his  soldiers  had  been  driven  out,  there 
was  scarcely  a  single  man  in  the  colony  of  the 
slightest  training  or  experience  in  regular  war. 
Up  to  this  moment,  New  England  had  never  asked 
help  of  the  mother  country.  When  thousands  of 
savages  burst  on  her  defenceless  settlements,  she 
had  conquered  safety  and  peace  with  her  own 
blood  and  her  own  slender  resources ;  but  now,  as 
the  proposed  capture  of  Quebec  would  inure  to  the 
profit  of  the  British  crown,  Braclstreet  and  his 
council  thought  it  not  unfitting  to  ask  for  a  supply 


1690.]  MARTIAL  PREPARATION.  245 

of  arms  and  ammunition,  of  which  they  were  in 
great  need.1  The  request  was  refused,  and  no  aid 
of  any  kind  came  from  the  English  government, 
whose  resources  were  engrossed  by  the  Irish  war. 
While  waiting  for  the  reply,  the  colonial  authori- 
ties urged  on  their  preparations,  in  the  hope  that 
the  plunder  of  Quebec  would  pay  the  expenses  of 
its  conquest.  Humility  was  not  among  the  New 
England  virtues,  and  it  wras  thought  a  sin  to  doubt 
that  God  would  give  his  chosen  people  the  victory 
over  papists  and  idolaters ;  yet  no  pains  were  spared 
to  ensure  the  divine  favor.  A  proclamation  was 
issued,  calling  the  people  to  repentance ;  a  day  of 
fasting  was  ordained ;  and,  as  Mather  expresses 
it,  "  the  wheel  of  prayer  was  kept  in  continual 
motion." 2  The  chief  difficulty  was  to  provide 
funds.  An  attempt  was  made  to  collect  a  part  of 
the  money  by  private  subscription ; 3  but,  as  this 
plan  failed,  the  provisional  government,  already  in 
debt,  strained  its  credit  yet  farther,  and  borrowed 
the  needful  sums.  Thirty-two  trading  and  fishing 
vessels,  great  and  small,  were  impressed  for  the 
service.  The  largest  was  a  ship  called  the  "  Six 
Friends,"  engaged  in  the  dangerous  West  India 
trade,  and  carrying  forty-four  guns.  A  call  was 
made  for  volunteers,  and  many  enrolled  themselves ; 
but,  as  more  were  wanted,  a  press  was  ordered  to 
complete  the  number.    So  rigorously  was  it  applied 

1  Bradstreet  and  Council  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  29  Mar.,  1690  ;  Dan- 
forth  to  Sir  H.  Ashurst,  1  April,  1690. 

2  Mass.  Colonial  Records,  12  Mar.,  1690  ;  Mather,  Life  of  Phips. 

3  Proposals  for  an  Expedition  against  Canada,  in  3  Mass.  Hist.   Coll., 
X.  119. 


246  MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

that,  what  with  voluntary  and  enforced  enlistment, 
one  town,  that  of  Gloucester,  was  deprived  of  two- 
thirds  of  its  fencible  men.1  There  was  not  a 
moment  of  doubt  as  to  the  choice  of  a  commander, 
for  Phips  was  imagined  to  be  the  very  man  for  the 
work.  One  John  Walley,  a  respectable  citizen  of 
Barnstable,  was  made  second  in  command  with  the 
modest  rank  of  major;  and  a  sufficient  number  of 
ship-masters,  merchants,  master  mechanics,  and 
substantial  farmers,  were  commissioned  as  subordi- 
nate officers.  About  the  middle  of  July,  the  com- 
mittee charged  with  the  preparations  reported  that 
all  was  ready.  Still  there  was  a  long  delay.  The 
vessel  sent  early  in  spring  to  ask  aid  from  England 
had  not  returned.  Phips  waited  for  her  as  long  as 
he  dared,  and  the  best  of  the  season  was  over  when 
he  resolved  to  put  to  sea.  The  rustic  warriors, 
duly  formed  into  companies,  were  sent  on  board ; 
and  the  fleet  sailed  from  Nantasket  on  the  ninth  of 
August.  Including  sailors,  it  carried  twenty-two 
hundred  men,  with  provisions  for  four  months,  but 
insufficient  ammunition  and  no  pilot  for  the  St. 
Lawrence.2 

While  Massachusetts  was  making  ready  to  con- 
quer Quebec  by  sea,  the  militia  of  the  land  expe- 
dition against  Montreal  had  mustered  at  Albany. 

1  Jlev.  John  Emerson  to  Wait  Winthrop,  26  July,  1690.  Emerson  was 
the  minister  of  Gloucester.  He  begs  for  the  release  of  the  impressed 
men. 

2  Mather,  Life  of  Phips,  gives  an  account  of  the  outfit.  Compare  the 
Humble  Address  of  Divers  of  the  Gentry,  Merchants  and  others  inhabiting  in 
Boston,  to  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty.  Two  officers  of  the  expedi- 
tion, Walley  and  Savage,  have  left  accounts  of  it,  as  Phips  would  prob- 
ably have  done,  had  his  literary  acquirements  been  equal  to  the  task. 


1690.]  FRONTENAC  AND   THE   COUNCIL.  247 

Their  strength  was  even  less  than  was  at  first 
pro]30sed ;  for,  after  the  disaster  at  Casco,  Massachu- 
setts and  Plymouth  had  recalled  their  contingents 
to  defend  their  frontiers.  The  rest,  decimated 
by  dysentery  and  small-pox,  began  their  march  to 
Lake  Champlain,  with  bands  of  Mohawk,  Oneida, 
and  Mohegan  allies.  The  western  Iroquois  were 
to  join  them  at  the  lake,  and  the  combined  force 
was  then  to  attack  the  head  of  the  colony,  while 
Phips  struck  at  its  heart. 

Frontenac  was  at  Quebec  during  most  of  the 
winter  and  the  early  spring.  When  he  had  de- 
spatched the  three  war-parties,  whose  hardy  but 
murderous  exploits  were  to  bring  this  double  storm 
upon  him,  he  had  an  interval  of  leisure,  of  which 
he  made  a  characteristic  use.  The  English  and 
the  Iroquois  were  not  his  only  enemies.  He  had 
opponents  within  as  well  as  without,  and  he  counted 
as  among  them  most  of  the  members  of  the 
supreme  council.  Here  Avas  the  bishop,  repre- 
senting that  clerical  power  which  had  clashed  so 
often  with  the  civil  rule  ;  here  was  that  ally  of 
the  Jesuits,  the  intenclant  Champigny,  who,  when 
Frontenac  arrived,  had  written  mournfully  to  Ver- 
sailles that  he  would  do  his  best  to  live  at  peace 
with  him ;  here  were  Villeray  and  Auteuil,  whom 
the  governor  had  once  banished,  Damours,  whom  he 
had  imprisoned,  and  others  scarcely  more  agreeable 
to  him.  They  and  their  clerical  friends  had  con- 
spired for  his  recall  seven  or  eight  years  before ; 
they  had  clung  to  Denonville,  that  faithful  son  of 
the  Church,  in  spite  of  all  his  failures  ;  and  they  had 


248  MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS    QUEBEC.  [1690. 

seen  with  troubled  minds  the  return  of  King  Stork 
in  the  person  of  the  haughty  and  irascible  count. 
He  on  his  part  felt  his  power.  The  country  was 
in  deadly  need  of  him,  and  looked  to  him  for  salva- 
tion ;  while  the  king  had  shown  him  such  marks  of 
favor,  that,  for  the  moment  at  least,  his  enemies 
must  hold  their  peace.  Now,  therefore,  was  the 
time  to  teach  them  that  he  was  their  master. 
"Whether  trivial  or  important  the  occasion  mattered 
little.  What  he  wanted  was  a  conflict  and  a  victory, 
or  submission  without  a  conflict. 

The  supreme  council  had  held  its  usual  weekly 
meetings  since  Frontenac's  arrival ;  but  as  yet  he 
had  not  taken  his  place  at  the  board,  though  his 
presence  was  needed.  Auteuil,  the  attorney-gen- 
eral, was  thereupon  deputed  to  invite  him.  He 
visited  the  count  at  his  apartment  in  the  chateau, 
but  could  get  from  him  no  answer,  except  that  the 
council  was  able  to  manage  its  own  business,  and 
that  he  would  come  when  the  king's  service  should 
require  it.  The  councillors  divined  that  he  was 
waiting  for  some  assurance  that  they  would  receive 
him  with  befitting  ceremony ;  and,  after  debating  the 
question,  they  voted  to  send  four  of  their  number 
to  repeat  the  invitation,  and  beg  the  governor  to  say 
what  form  of  reception  would  be  agreeable  to  him. 
Frontenac  answered  that  it  was  for  them  to  pro- 
pose the  form,  and  that,  when  they  did  so,  he 
would  take  the  subject  into  consideration.  The 
deputies  returned,  and  there  was  another  debate. 
A  ceremony  was  devised,  which  it  was  thought 
must  needs  be  acceptable  to  the  count ;  and  the 


1090.]  FRONTENAC  AND  THE   COUNCIL.  249 

first  councillor,  Villeray,  repaired  to  the  chateau  to 
submit  it  to  him.  After  making  him  an  harangue 
of  compliment,  and  protesting  the  anxiety  of  him- 
self and  his  colleagues  to  receive  him  with  all 
possible  honor,  he  explained  the  plan,  and  assured 
Frontenac  that,  if  not  wholly  satisfactory,  it  should 
be  changed  to  suit  his  pleasure.  "  To  which,"  says 
the  record,  "  Monsieur  the  governor  only  answered 
that  the  council  could  consult  the  bishop  and  other 
persons  acquainted  with  such  matters."  The  bishop 
was  consulted,  but  pleaded  ignorance.  Another 
debate  followed ;  and  the  first  councillor  was  again 
despatched  to  the  chateau,  with  proposals  still  more 
deferential  than  the  last,  and  full  power  to  yield, 
in  addition,  whatever  the  governor  might  desire. 
Frontenac  replied  that,  though  they  had  made  propo- 
sals for  his  reception  when  he  should  present  himself 
at  the  council  for  the  first  time,  they  had  not  informed 
him  what  ceremony  they  meant  to  observe  when 
he  should  come  to  the  subsequent  sessions.  This 
point  also  having  been  thoroughly  debated,  Yilleray 
went  again  to  the  count,  and  with  great  deference 
laid  before  him  the  following  plan  :  That,  whenever 
it  should  be  his  pleasure  to  make  his  first  visit  to 
the  council,  four  of  its  number  should  repair  to 
the  chateau,  and  accompany  him,  with  every  mark 
of  honor,  to  the  palace  of  the  intendant,  where  the 
sessions  were  held;  and  that,  on  his  subsequent 
visits,  two  councillors  should  meet  him  at  the  head 
of  the  stairs,  and  conduct  him  to  his  seat.  The 
envoy  farther  protested  that,  if  this  failed  to  meet 
his  approval,  the  council  would  conform  itself   to 


250  MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690, 

all  his  wishes  on  the  subject.  Frontenac  now  de- 
manded to  see  the  register  in  which  the  proceed- 
ings on  the  question  at  issue  were  recorded. 
Villeray  was  directed  to  carry  it  to  him.  The 
records  had  been  cautiously  made ;  and,  after 
studying  them  carefully,  he  could  find  nothing  at 
which  to  cavil. 

He  received  the  next  deputation  with  great 
affability,  told  them  that  he  was  glad  to  find  that 
the  council  had  not  forgotten  the  consideration  due 
to  his  office  and  his  person,  and  assured  them,  with 
urbane  irony,  that,  had  they  offered  to  accord  him 
marks  of  distinction  greater  than  they  felt  were 
due,  he  would  not  have  permitted  them  thus  to 
compromise  their  dignity,  having  too  much  regard 
for  the  honor  of  a  body  of  which  he  himself  was 
the  head.  Then,  after  thanking  them  collectively 
and  severally,  he  graciously  dismissed  them,  saying 
that  he  would  come  to  the  council  after  Easter,  or 
in  about  two  months.1  During  four  successive 
Mondays,  he  had  forced  the  chief  dignitaries  of  the 
colony  to  march  in  deputations  up  and  clown  the 
rugged  road  from  the  intenclant's  palace    to   the 


1  "  M.  le  Gouverneur  luy  a  repondu  qu'il  avoit  reconnu  avec  plaisir  que 
la  Compagnie  (le  Conseil)  conservoit  la  consideration  qu'elle  avoit  pour 
son  caractere  et  pour  sa  personne,  et  qu'elle  pouvoit  bien  s'assurer  qu'en- 
core  qu'elle  luy  eust  fait  des  propositions  au  dela  de  ce  qu'elle  auroit  era 
devoir  t'aire  pour  sa  reception  au  Conseil,  il  ne  les  auroit  pas  acceptees, 
l'lionneur  de  la  Compagnie  luy  estant  d'autant  plus  considerable,  qu'en 
estant  le  chef,  il  n'auroit  rien  voulu  souffrir  qui  peust  estre  contraire  a  sa 
dignite."  Registre  da  Conseil  Souverain,  se'ance  du  13  Mars,  1690.  The 
affair  had  occupied  the  preceding  sessions  of  20  and  27  February  and  6 
March.  The  submission  of  the  councillors  did  not  prevent  them  from  com- 
plaining to  the  minister.  Champigny  au  Minislre,  10  Mai,  1691 ;  M€moire 
instruct!/  sur  le  Canada,  1691. 


1690.]  PRECAUTIONS   OF  FRONTENAC.  251 

chamber  of  the  chateau  where  he  sat  in  solitary 
state.  A  disinterested  spectator  might  see  the 
humor  of  the  situation  ;  but  the  council  felt  only 
its  vexations.  Frontenac  had  gained  his  point : 
the  enemy  had   surrendered  unconditionally. 

Having  settled  this  important  matter  to  his  satis- 
faction, he  again  addressed  himself  to  saving  the 
country.  During  the  winter,  he  had  employed 
gangs  of  men  in  cutting  timber  in  the  forests,  hew- 
ing it  into  palisades,  and  dragging  it  to  Quebec. 
Nature  had  fortified  the  Upper  Town  on  two  sides 
by  cliffs  almost  inaccessible,  but  it  was  open  to 
attack  in  the  rear ;  and  Frontenac,  with  a  happy 
prevision  of  approaching  danger,  gave  his  first 
thoughts  to  strengthening  this,  its  only  weak  side. 
The  work  began  as  soon  as  the  frost  was  out  of 
the  ground,  and  before  midsummer  it  was  well 
advanced.  At  the  same  time,  he  took  every  pre- 
caution for  the  safety  of  the  settlements  in  the 
upper  parts  of  the  colony,  stationed  detachments 
of  regulars  at  the  stockade  forts,  which  Denonville 
had  built  in  all  the  parishes  above  Three  Rivers, 
and  kept  strong  scouting  parties  in  continual  move- 
ment in  all  the  quarters  most  exposed  to  attack. 
Troops  were  detailed  to  guard  the  settlers  at  their 
work  in  the  fields,  and  officers  and  men  were  en- 
joined to  use  the  utmost  vigilance.  Nevertheless, 
the  Iroquois  war-parties  broke  in  at  various  points, 
burning  and  butchering,  and  spreading  such  terror 
that  in  some  districts  the  fields  were  left  unfilled 
and  the  prospects  of  the  harvest  ruined. 

Towards  the  end  of  July,  Frontenac  left  Major 


252  MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1600. 

Prevost  to  finish  the  fortifications,  and,  with  the 
intendant  Champigny,  went  up  to  Montreal,  the 
chief  point  of  clanger.  Here  he  arrived  on 
the  thirty-first ;  and,  a  few  clays  after,  the  officer 
commanding  the  fort  at  La  Chine  sent  him  a  mes- 
senger in  hot  haste  with  the  startling  news  that 
Lake  St.  Louis  was  "  all  covered  with  canoes."  ! 
Nobody  doubted  that  the  Iroquois  were  upon  them 
again.  Cannon  were  fired  to  call  in  the  troops 
from  the  detached  posts;  when  alarm  was  sud- 
denly turned  to  joy  by  the  arrival  of  other  messen- 
gers to  announce  that  the  new  coiners  were  not 
enemies,  but  friends.  They  were  the  Indians  of 
the  upper  lakes  descending  from  Michillimackinac 
to  trade  at  Montreal.  Nothing  so  auspicious  had 
happened  since  Frontenac's  return.  The  messages 
he  had  sent  them  in  the  spring  by  Louvigny  and 
Perrot,  reinforced  by  the  news  of  the  victory  on 
the  Ottawa  and  the  capture  of  Schenectady,  had 
had  the  desired  effect ;  and  the  Iroquois  prisoner 
whom  their  missionary  had  persuaded  them  to  tor- 
ture had  not  been  sacrificed  in  vain.  Despairing 
of  an  English  market  for  their  beaver  skins,  they 
had  come  as  of  old  to  seek  one  from  the  French. 

On  the  next  day,  they  all  came  clown  the  rapids, 
and  landed  near  the  town.  There  were  fully  five 
hundred  of  them,  Hurons,  Ottawas,  Ojibwas,  Potta- 
wat amies,  Crees,  and  Nipissings,  with  a  hundred 
and  ten  canoes  laden  with  beaver  skins  to  the  value 
of  nearly  a  hundred   thousand   crowns.     Nor  was 

1  "  Que  le  lac  estoit  tout  couvert  tie  canots."  Frontenac  au  Mmistre, 
9  et  12  Nov.,  1690. 


1690.1  FRONTENAC   AND   HIS   ALLIES.  253 

this  all ;  for,  a  few  clays  after.  La  Durantaye,  late 
commander  at  Michillimackinac,  arrived  with  fifty- 
five  more  canoes,  manned  by  French  traders,  and 
filled  with  valuable  furs.  The  stream  of  wealth 
dammed  back  so  long  was  flowing  upon  the  colony 
at  the  moment  when  it  was  most  needed.  Never 
had  Canada  known  a  more  prosperous  trade  than 
now  in  the  midst  of  her  clanger  and  tribulation. 
It  was  a  triumph  for  Frontenac.  If  his  policy  had 
failed  with  the  Iroquois,  it  had  found  a  crowning 
success  among;  the  tribes  of  the  lakes. 

Having  painted,  greased,  and  befeathered  them- 
selves, the  Indians  mustered  for  the  grand  council 
which  always  preceded  the  opening  of  the  market. 
The  Ottawa  orator  spoke  of  nothing  but  trade,  and, 
with  a  regretful  memory  of  the  cheapness  of  Eng- 
lish goods,  begged  that  the  French  would  sell  them 
at  the  same  rate.  The  Huron  touched  upon 
politics  and  war,  declaring  that  he  and  his  people 
had  come  to  visit  their  old  father  and  listen  to  his 
voice,  being  well  assured  that  he  would  never 
abandon  them,  as  others  had  done,  nor  fool  away 
his  time,  like  Denonville,  in  shameful  negotiations 
for  peace  ;  and  he  exhorted  Frontenac  to  fight,  not 
the  English  only,  but  the  Iroquois  also,  till  they 
were  brought  to  reason.  "  If  this  is  not  clone,"  he 
said,  "  my  father  and  I  shall  both  perish  ;  but, 
come  what  may,  we  will  perish  together."  !  "  I 
answered,"  writes  Frontenac,  "  that  I  would  fight 
the    Iroquois    till    they  came    to   beg   for   peace, 

1  La  Potherie,  III.  94 ;  Monseignat,  Relation ;  Frontenac  au  Ministre. 
9  et  12  Nov.,  1690. 


254  MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

and  that  I  would  grant  them  no  peace  that  did  not 
include  all  my  children,  both  white  and  red,  for  I 
was  the  father  of  both  alike." 

Now  ensued  a  curious  scene.  Frontenac  took  a 
hatchet,  brandished  it  in  the  air  and  sang  the  war- 
song.  The  principal  Frenchmen  present  followed 
his  example.  The  Christian  Iroquois  of  the  two 
neighboring  missions  rose  and  joined  them,  and  so 
also  did  the  Hurons  and  the  Algonquins  of  Lake  Ni- 
pissing,  stamping  and  screeching  like  a  troop  of 
madmen  ;  while  the  governor  led  the  dance,  whoop- 
ing like  the  rest.  His  predecessor  would  have 
perished  rather  than  play  such  a  part  in  such  com- 
pany ;  but  the  punctilious  old  courtier  was  himself 
half  Indian  at  heart,  as  much  at  home  in  a  wigwam 
as  in  the  halls  of  princes.  Another  man  would  have 
lost  respect  in  Indian  eyes  by  such  a  performance. 
In  Frontenac,  it  roused  his  audience  to  enthusiasm. 
They  snatched  the  proffered  hatchet  and  promised 
war  to  the  death.1 

Then  came  a  solemn  war-feast.  Two  oxen  and 
six  large  dogs  had  been  chopped  to  pieces  for  the 
occasion,  and  boiled  with  a  quantity  of  prunes.  Two 

1  "  Je  leur  mis  moy-mesme  la  hache  a  la  main  en  chantant  la  chanson 
de  guerre  pour  m'accommoderaleursfacons  de  faire."  Frontenac  au  Mi- 
ni stre,  9  et  12  Nov.,  1690. 

"  Monsieur  de  Frontenac  commenca  la  Chanson  de  guerre,  la  Hache 
a,  la  main,  les  principaux  Chefs  des  Francois  se  joignant  a  luy  avec  de 
pareilles  amies,  la  chanterent  ensemble.  Les  Iroquois  du  Saut  et  de  la 
Montagne,  les  Hurons  et  les  Nipisiriniens  donnerent  encore  le  branle  : 
Ton  eut  dit,  Monsieur,  que  ces  Acteurs  etoient  des  possedez  par  les 
gestes  et  les  contorsions  qu'ils  faisoient.  Les  Sassakouez,  oil  les  cris  et 
les  hurlemens  que  M^  de  Frontenac  etoit  oblige'  de  faire  pour  se  confor- 
mer  a  leur  maniere,  augmentoit  encore  la  fureur  bachique."  La  Po- 
therie,  III.  97. 


1690. 


ALARM   AT   MONTREAL.  255 


barrels  of  wine  with  abundant  tobacco  were  also 
served  out  to  the  guests,  who  devoured  the  meal 
in  a  species  of  frenzy.1  All  seemed  eager  for  war 
except  the  Ottawas,  who  had  not  forgotten  their 
late  dalliance  with  the  Iroquois.  A  Christian  Mo- 
hawk of  the  Saut  St.  Louis  called  them  to  another 
council,  and  demanded  that  they  should  explain 
clearly  their  position.  Thus  pushed  to  the  wall, 
they  no  longer  hesitated,  but  promised  like  the 
rest  to  do  all  that  their  father  should  ask. 

Their  sincerity  was  soon  put  to  the  test.  An 
Iroquois  convert  called  La  Plaque,  a  notorious  rep- 
robate though  a  good  warrior,  had  gone  out  as  a 
scout  in  the  direction  of  Albany.  On  the  day  when 
the  market  opened  and  trade  was  in  full  activity, 
the  buyers  and  sellers  were  suddenly  startled  by 
the  sound  of  the  death-yell.  They  snatched  their 
weapons,  and  for  a  moment  all  was  confusion ;  when 
La  Plaque,  who  had  probably  meant  to  amuse  him- 
self at  their  expense,  made  his  appearance,  and  ex- 
plained that  the  yells  proceeded  from  him.  The 
news  that  he  brought  was,  however,  sufficiently 
alarming.  He  declared  that  he  had  been  at  Lake 
St.  Sacrement,  or  Lake  George,  and  had  seen  there 
a  great  number  of  men  making  canoes  as  if  about 
to  advance  on  Montreal.  Frontenac,  thereupon, 
sent  the  Chevalier  cle  Clermont  to  scout  as  far  as 
Lake  Champlain.  Clermont  soon  sent  back  one  of 
his  followers  to  announce  that  he  had  discovered  a 
party  of  the  enemy,  and  that  they  were  already  on 
their  way  down  the  Kichelieu.    Frontenac  ordered 

i  La  Potherie,  III.  96,  98. 


256  MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

cannon  to  be  fired  to  call  in  the  troops,  crossed  the 
St.  Lawrence  followed  by  all  the  Indians,  and  en- 
camped with  twelve  hundred  men  at  La  Prairie  to 
meet  the  expected  attack.  He  waited  in  vain. 
All  was  quiet,  and  the  Ottawa  scouts  reported  that 
they  could  find  no  enemy.  Three  days  passed.  The 
Indians  grew  impatient,  and  wished  to  go  home. 
Neither  English  nor  Iroquois  had  shown  themselves  ; 
and  Frontenac,  satisfied  that  their  strength  had 
been  exaggerated,  left  a  small  force  at  La  Prairie, 
recrossecl  the  river,  and  distributed  the  troops  again 
among  the  neighboring  parishes  to  protect  the  har- 
vesters. He  now  gave  ample  presents  to  his  de- 
parting allies,  whose  chiefs  he  had  entertained  at 
his  own  table,  and  to  whom,  says  Charlevoix,  he 
bade  farewell  "  with  those  engaging  manners  which 
he  knew  so  well  how  to  assume  when  he  wanted  to 
gain  anybody  to  his  interest."  Scarcely  were  they 
gone,  when  the  distant  cannon  of  La  Prairie  boomed 
a  sudden  alarm. 

The  men  whom  La  Plaque  had  seen  near  Lake 
George  were  a  part  of  the  combined  force  of  Con- 
necticut and  New  York,  destined  to  attack  Mont- 
real. They  had  made  their  way  along  Wood  Creek 
to  the  point  where  it  widens  into  Lake  Champlain, 
and  here  they  had  stopped.  Disputes  between  the 
men  of  the  two  colonies,  intestine  quarrels  in  the 
New  York  militia,  who  were  divided  between  the 
two  factions  engendered  by  the  late  revolution, 
the  want  of  provisions,  the  want  of  canoes,  and  the 
ravages  of  small-pox,  had  ruined  an  enterprise 
which  had  been  mismanaged  from  the  first.    There 


1690.]  AN    ENGLISH  RAID.  257 

was  no  birch  bark  to  make  more  canoes,  and  owing 
to  the  lateness  of  the  season  the  bark  of  the  elms 
would  not  peel.  Such  of  the  Iroquois  as  had  joined 
them  were  cold  and  sullen ;  and  news  came  that 
the  three  western  tribes  of  the  confederacy,  terri- 
fied by  the  small-pox,  had  refused  to  move.  It 
was  impossible  to  advance  ;  ^and  Winthrop,  the 
commander,  gave  orders  to  return  to  Albany,  leav- 
ing Phips  to  conquer  Canada  alone.1  But  first, 
that  the  campaign  might  not  seem  wholly  futile, 
he  permitted  Captain  John  Schuyler  to  make  a 
raid  into  Canada  with  a  band  of  volunteers.  Schuy- 
ler left  the  camp  at  Wood  Creek  with  twenty-nine 
whites  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  Indians,  passed 
Lake  Champlain,  descended  the  Richelieu  to  Cham- 
bly,  and  fell  suddenly  on  the  settlement  of  La 
Prairie,  whence  Frontenac  had  just  withdrawn  with 
his  forces.  Soldiers  and  inhabitants  were  reaping 
in  the  wheat-fields.  Schuyler  and  his  followers 
killed   or  captured  twenty-five,  including   several 


1  On  this  expedition  see  the  Journal  of  Major  General  Winthrop,  in 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.  193 ;  Pub/ick  Occurrences,  1690,  in  Historical  Maga- 
zine, I.  228;  and  various  documents  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  727,  752,  and 
in  Doc.  Hist.  X.  Y.,  II.  2G6, 288.  Compare  La  Potherie,  III.  126,  and  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  IX.  513.  These  last  are  French  statements.  A  Sokoki  In- 
dian brought  to  Canada  a  greatly  exaggerated  account  of  the  English 
forces,  and  said  that  disease  had  been  spread  among  them  by  boxes  of 
infected  clothing,  which  they  themselves  had  provided  in  order  to  poi- 
son the  Canadians.  Bishop  Laval,  Lettre  du  20  Nov.,  1690,  says  that  there 
was  a  quarrel  between  the  English  and  their  Iroquois  allies,  who,  hav- 
ing plundered  a  magazine  of  spoiled  provisions,  fell  ill,  and  thought  that 
they  were  poisoned.  Golden  and  other  English  writers  seem  to  have 
been  strangely  ignorant  of  this  expedition.  The  Jesuit  Michel  Germain 
declares  that  the  force  of  the  English  alone  amounted  to  four  thousand 
men  (Relation  de  la  Defaite  des  Anglois,  1690).  About  one  tenth  of  this 
number  seem  actually  to  have  taken  the  field. 

17 


2-38  MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1600. 

women.  He  wished  to  attack  the  neighboring  fort, 
but  his  Indians  refused ;  and  after  burning  houses, 
barns,  and  hay-ricks,  and  killing  a  great  number  of 
cattle,  he  seated  himself  with  his  party  at  dinner 
in  the  adjacent  woods,  while  cannon  answered  can- 
non from  Chambly,  La  Prairie,  and  Montreal,  and 
the  whole  country  was  astir.  "  We  thanked  the 
Governor  of  Canada,"  writes  Schuyler,  "for  his 
salute  of  heavy  artillery  during  our  meal."  * 

The  English  had  little  to  boast  in  this  affair,  the 
paltry  termination  of  an  enterprise  from  which 
great  things  had  been  expected.  Nor  was  it  for 
their  honor  to  adopt  the  savage  and  cowardly  mode 
of  warfare  in  which  their  enemies  had  led  the  way. 
The  blow  that  had  been  struck  was  less  an  injury 
to  the  French  than  an  insult ;  but,  as  such,  it  galled 
Frontenac  excessively,  and  he  made  no  mention  of 
it  in  his  despatches  to  the  court.  A  few  more  Iro- 
quois attacks  and  a  few  more  murders  kept  Mont- 
real in  alarm  till  the  tenth  of  October,  when  matters 
of  deeper  import  engaged  the  governor's  thoughts. 

A  messenger  arrived  in  haste  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  gave  him  a  letter  from  Prevost, 
town  major  of  Quebec.  It  was  to  the  effect  that 
an  Abenaki  Indian  had  just  come  over  land  from 
Acadia,  with  news  that  some  of  his  tribe  had  cap- 
tured an  English  woman  near  Portsmouth,  who 
told  them  that  a  great  fleet  had  sailed  from  Bos- 
ton to  attack  Quebec.  Frontenac,  not  easily  alarmed, 
doubted   the  report.     Nevertheless,  he  embarked 

1  Journal  of  Captain  John  Schuyler,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  II.  285.  Cora- 
pare  La  Potherie,  III.  101,  and  Relation  de  Monseignat. 


1690.]  APPROACH   OF  PHIPS.  259 

at  once  with  the  intenclant  in  a  small  vessel,  which 
proved  to  be  leaky,  and  was  near  foundering  with 
all  on  board.  He  then  took  a  canoe,  and  towards 
evening  set  out  again  for  Quebec,  ordering  some 
two  hundred  men  to  follow  him.  On  the  next 
day,  he  met  another  canoe,  bearing  a  fresh 
message  from  Prevost,  who  announced  that  the 
English  fleet  had  been  seen  in  the  river,  and  that 
it  was  already  above  Tadoussac.  Frontenac  now 
sent  back  Captain  de  Ramsay  with  orders  to  Cal- 
lieres,  governor  of  Montreal,  to  descend  immedi- 
ately to  Quebec  with  all  the  force  at  his  disposal, 
and  to  muster  the  inhabitants  on  the  way.  Then 
he  pushed  on  with  the  utmost  speed.  The  autum- 
nal storms  had  begun,  and  the  rain  pelted  him  with- 
out ceasing ;  but  on  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth 
he  neared  the  town.  The  rocks  of  Cape  Diamond 
towered  before  him ;  the  St.  Lawrence  lay  beneath 
them,  lonely  and  still ;  and  the  Basin  of  Quebec 
outspread  its  broad  bosom,  a  solitude  without  a  sail. 
Frontenac  had  arrived  in  time. 

He  landed  at  the  Lower  Town,  and  the  troops  and 
the  armed  inhabitants  came  crowding  to  meet  him. 
He  was  delighted  at  their  ardor.1  Shouts,  cheers, 
and  the  waving  of  hats  greeted  the  old  man  as  he 
climbed  the  steep  ascent  of  Mountain  Street.  Fear 
and  doubt  seemed  banished  by  his  presence.  Even 
those  who  hated  him  rejoiced  at  his  coming,  and 
hailed  him  as  a  deliverer.  He  went  at  once  to  in- 
spect the  fortifications.  Since  the  alarm  a  week 
before,  Prevost   had    accomplished   wonders,   and 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  9  et  12  Nov.,  1690. 


260  MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

not  only  completed  the  works  begun  in  the  spring, 
but  added  others  to  secure  a  place  which  was  a 
natural  fortress  in  itself.  On  two  sides,  the  Upper 
Town  scarcely  needed  defence.  The  cliffs  along 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  those  along  the  tributary 
river  St.  Charles  had  three  accessible  points, 
guarded  at  the  present  clay  by  the  Prescott  Gate, 
the  Hope  Gate,  and  the  Palace  Gate.  Prevost  had 
secured  them  by  barricades  of  heavy  beams  and 
casks  filled  with  earth.  A  continuous  line  of  pali- 
sades ran  along  the  strand  of  the  St.  Charles,  from 
the  great  cliff  called  the  Saut  au  Matelot  to  the 
palace  of  the  intendant.  At  this  latter  point  be- 
gan the  line  of  works  constructed  by  Frontenac  to 
protect  the  rear  of  the  town.  They  consisted  of 
palisades,  strengthened  by  a  ditch  and  an  em- 
bankment, and  flanked  at  frequent  intervals  by 
square  towers  of  stone.  Passing  behind  the  garden 
of  the  Ursulines,  they  extended  to  a  windmill  on  a 
hillock  called  Mt.  Carmel,  and  thence  to  the  brink 
of  the  cliffs  in  front.  Here  there  was  a  battery  of 
eight  guns  near  the  present  Public  Garden ;  two 
more,  each  of  three  guns,  were  planted  at  the  top 
of  the  Saut  au  Matelot ;  another  at  the  barricade 
of  the  Palace  Gate  ;  and  another  near  the  windmill 
of  Mt.  Carmel ;  while  a  number  of  light  pieces  were 
held  in  reserve  for  such  use  as  occasion  might  re- 
quire. The  Lower  Town  had  no  defensive  works ; 
but  two  batteries,  each  of  three  guns,  eighteen 
and  twenty-four  pounders,  were  placed  here  at 
the  edge   of  the  river.1 

1  Relation  de  Monseignat;  Plan  de  Quebec,  par  Villeneure,  1600;    Rela- 
tion du  Mercure  Galant,   1691.     The  summit  of  Cape  Diamond,  which 


1690.]  THE   ENEMY  ARRIVES.  26 1 

Two  days  passed  in  completing  these  defences 
under  the  eye  of  the  governor.  Men  were  flock- 
ing in  from  the  parishes  far  and  near ;  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  fifteenth  about  twenty-seven  hun- 
dred, regulars  and  militia,  were  gathered  within  the 
fortifications,  besides  the  armed  peasantry  of  Beau- 
port  and  Beaupre,  who  were  ordered  to  watch  the 
river  below  the  town,  and  resist  the  English,  should 
they  attempt  to  land.1  At  length,  before  dawn  on 
the  morning  of  the  sixteenth,  the  sentinels  on  the 
Saut  au  Matelot  could  descry  the  slowly  moving 
lights  of  distant  vessels.  At  daybreak  the  fleet 
was  in  sight.  Sail  after  sail  passed  the  Point  of 
Orleans  and  glided  into  the  Basin  of  Quebec.  The 
excited  spectators  on  the  rock  counted  thirty-four 
of  them.  Four  were  large  ships,  several  others 
wTere  of  considerable  size,  and  the  rest  were  brigs, 
schooners,  and  fishing  craft,  all  thronged  with 
men. 

commanded  the  town,  was  not  fortified  till  three  years  later,  nor  were 
any  guns  placed  here  during  the  English  attack. 

1  Diary  of  S yl 'vanus  Davis,  prisoner  in  Quebec,  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll. 
8,  I.  101.  There  is  a  difference  of  ten  days  in  the  French  and  English 
dates,  the  New  Style  having  been  adopted  by  the  former  and  not  by  the 
latter. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

1690. 

DEFENCE    OF  QUEBEC. 

Phips  ox  the  St.  Lawrence.  —  Phips  at  Quebec.  —  A  Flag  of 
Truce.  —  Scene  at  the  Chateau. — The  Summons  and  the  An- 
swer.—  Plan  of  Attack. — Landing  op  the  English.  —  The 
Cannonade. — The  Ships  repulsed.  —  The  Land  Attack. — 
Retreat  of  Phips. —  Condition  of  Quebec.  —  Rejoicings  of 
the  French.  —  Distress  at  Boston. 

The  delay  at  Boston,  waiting  aid  from  England 
that  never  came,  was  not  propitious  to  Phips ; 
nor  were  the  wind  and  the  waves.  The  voyage  to 
the  St.  Lawrence  was  a  long  one  ;  and  when  he 
began,  without  a  pilot,  to  grope  his  way  up  the 
unknown  river,  the  weather  seemed  in  league 
with  his  enemies.  He  appears,  moreover,  to  have 
wasted  time.  What  was  most  vital  to  his  success 
was  rapidity  of  movement;  yet,  whether  by  his 
fault  or  his  misfortune,  he  remained  three  weeks 
within  three  clays'  sail  of  Quebec.1  While  an- 
chored off  Tacloussac,  with  the  wind  ahead,  he 
passed  the  idle  hours  in  holding  councils  of  war 
and  framing  rules  for  the  government  of  his  men ; 
and,  when  at  length  the  wind  veered  to  the  east,  it 
is  doubtful  if  he  made  the  best  use  of  his  oppor- 
tunity.2 

1  Journal  of  Major  Walley,  in  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  I.  470. 

2  "  lis  ne  profiterent  pas  du  vent  favorable  pour  nous  surprendre 
couime  ils  auroient  pu  faire."     Juchereau,  320. 


1690.]  PHIPS   ON  THE   ST.   LAWRENCE.  2G3 

He  presently  captured  a  small  vessel,  commanded 
by  Granville,  an  officer  whom  Prevost  had  sent  to 
watch  his  movements.  He  had  already  captured, 
near  Tadoussac,  another  vessel,  having  on  board 
Madame  Lalande  and  Madame  Joliet,  the  wife  and 
the  mother-in-law  of  the  discoverer  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.1 When  questioned  as  to  the  condition  of" 
Quebec,  they  told  him  that  it  was  imperfectly  forti- 
fied, that  its  cannon  were  dismounted,  and  that  it 
had  not  two  hundred  men  to  defend  it.  Phips  was 
greatly  elated,  thinking  that,  like  Port  Royal,  the 
capital  of  Canada  would  fall  without  a  blow.  The 
statement  of  the  two  prisoners  was  true,  for  the 
most  part,  when  it  was  made ;  but  the  energy  of 
Prevost  soon  wrought  a  change. 

Phips  imagined  that  the  Canadians  would  offer 
little  resistance  to  the  Puritan  invasion ;  for  some 
of  the  Acadians  had  felt  the  influence  of  their  New 
England  neighbors,  and  shown  an  inclination  to 
them.  It  was  far  otherwise  in  Canada,  where 
the  English  heretics  were  regarded  with  abhor- 
rence. Whenever  the  invaders  tried  to  land  at  the 
settlements  along  the  shore,  they  were  met  by  a 
rebuff.  At  the  river  Ouelle,  Francheville,  the 
cure  put  on  a  cap  and  capote,  took  a  musket,  led 
his  parishioners  to  the  river,  and  hid  with  them  in 
the  bushes.  As  the  English  boats  approached  their 
ambuscade,  they  gave  the  foremost  a  volley,  which 
killed  nearly  every  man  on  board ;  upon  which 
the  rest  sheared  off.     It  was  the  same  when  the 

1  "  Les  Demoiselles  Lalande  et  Joliet."  The  title  of  madame  was  at 
this  time  restricted  to  married  women  of  rank.  The  wives  of  the  bour- 
geois, and  even  of  the  lesser  nobles,  were  called  demoiselles. 


264  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1G90. 

fleet  neared  Quebec.  Bands  of  militia,  vigilant, 
agile,  and  well  commanded,  followed  it  along  the 
shore,  and  repelled  with  showers  of  bullets  every 
attempt  of  the  enemy  to  touch  Canadian  soil. 

When,  after  his  protracted  voyage,  Phips  sailed 
into  the  Basin  of  Quebec,  one  of  the  grandest 
scenes  on  the  western  continent  opened  upon  his 
sight :  the  wide  expanse  of  waters,  the  lofty  prom- 
ontory beyond,  and  the  opposing  heights  of  Levi ; 
the  cataract  of  Montmorenci,  the  distant  range 
of  the  Laurentian  Mountains,  the  warlike  rock 
with  its  diadem  of  Avails  and  towers,  the  roofs  of 
the  Lower  Town  clustering  on  the  strand  beneath, 
the  Chateau  St.  Louis  perched  at  the  brink  of  the 
cliff,  and  over  it  the  white  banner,  spangled  with 
fleurs-de-lis,  flaunting  defiance  in  the  clear  autumnal 
air.  Perhaps,  as  he  gazed,  a  suspicion  seized  him 
that  the  task  he  had  undertaken  was  less  easy 
than  he  had  thought ;  but  he  had  conquered  once 
by  a  simple  summons  to  surrender,  and  he  resolved 
to  try  its  virtue  again. 

The  fleet  anchored  a  little  below  Quebec ;  and 
towards  ten  o'clock  the  French  saw  a  boat  put  out 
from  the  admiral's  ship,  bearing  a  flag  of  truce. 
Four  canoes  went  from  the  Lower  Town,  and  met 
it  midway.  It  brought  a  subaltern  officer,  who 
announced  himself  as  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from 
Sir  William  Phips  to  the  French  commander.  He 
was  taken  into  one  of  the  canoes  and  paddled  to 
the  quay,  after  being  completely  blindfolded  by  a 
bandage  which  covered  half  his  face.  Prevost  re- 
ceived him  as  he  landed,  and  ordered  two  sergeants 


1690.]  A  FLAG   OF  TRUCE.  265 

to  take  him  by  the  arms  and  lead  him  to  the 
governor.  His  progress  was  neither  rapid  nor 
direct.  They  drew  him  hither  and  thither,  delight- 
ing to  make  him  clamber  in  the  dark  over  every 
possible  obstruction ;  while  a  noisy  crowd  hustled 
him,  and  laughing  women  called  him  Colin  Mail- 
lard,  the  name  of  the  chief  player  in  blindman's 
buff.1  Amid  a  prodigious  hubbub,  intended  to 
bewilder  him  and  impress  him  with  a  sense  of  im- 
mense warlike  preparation,  they  dragged  him  over 
the  three  barricades  of  Mountain  Street,  and 
brought  him  at  last  into  a  large  room  of  the 
chateau.  Here  they  took  the  bandage  from  his 
eyes.  He  stood  for  a  moment  with  an  air  of 
astonishment  and  some  confusion.  The  governor 
stood  before  him,  haughty  and  stern,  surrounded  by 
French  and  Canadian  officers,  Maricourt,  Sainte- 
Helene,  Longueuil,  Villebon,  Valrenne,  Bienville, 
and  many  more,  bedecked  with  gold  lace  and 
silver  lace,  perukes  and  powTder,  plumes  and  rib- 
bons, and  all  the  martial  foppery  in  which  they 
took  delight,  and  regarding  the  envoy  Avith  keen, 
defiant  eyes.2  After  a  moment,  he  recovered  his 
breath  and  his  composure,  saluted  Frontenac,  and, 
expressing  a  wish  that  the  duty  assigned  him  had 
been  of  a  more  agreeable  nature,  handed  him  the 
letter  of  Phips.  Frontenac  gave  it  to  an  inter- 
preter, who  read  it  aloud  in  French  that  all  might 
hear.     It  ran  thus  :  — 

1  Juchereau,  323. 

2  "  Tons  oes  Officiers  s'etoient  habilles  le  plus  proprement  qu'ils  purent, 
les  galons  d'or  et  d'argent,  les  rubans,  les  plumets,  la  poudre,  et  la 
frisure,  rien  ne  manquoit,"  etc.    Ibid. 


266  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1600 

"  Sir  William  Phips,  Knight,  General  and  Commander-in-chief  in  and  over 
their  Majesties*  Forces  of  New  England,  by  Sea  and  Land,  to  Count 
Frontenac,  Lieutenant- General  and  Governour  for  the  French  King  at 
Canada  ;  or,  in  his  absence,  to  his  Deputy,  or  him  or  them  in  chief  com~ 
mnnd  at   Quebeck : 

"  The  war  between  the  crowns  of  England  and  France  doth 
not  only  sufficiently  warrant,  but  the  destruction  made  by  the 
French  and  Indians,  under  your  command  and  encouragement, 
upon  the  persons  and  estates  of  their  Majesties'  subjects  of  New 
England,  without  provocation  on  their  part,  hath  put  them 
under  the  necessity  of  this  expedition  for  their  own  security  and 
satisfaction.  And  although  the  cruelties  and  barbarities  used 
against  them  by  the  French  and  Indians  might,  upon  the  present 
opportunity,  prompt  unto  a  severe  revenge,  yet,  being  desirous 
to  avoid  all  inhumane  and  unchristian-like  actions,  and  to  pre- 
vent shedding  of  blood  as  much  as  may  be, 

"  I,  the  aforesaid  William  Phips,  Knight,  do  hereby,  in  the 
name  and  in  the  behalf  of  their  most  excellent  Majesties,  Wil- 
liam and  Mary,  King  and  Queen  of  England,  Scotland,  France, 
and  Ireland,  Defenders  of  the  Faith,  and  by  order  of  their  said 
Majesties'  government  of  the  Massachuset-colony  in  New  Eng- 
land, demand  a  present  surrender  of  your  forts  and  castles, 
undemolished,  and  the  King's  and  other  stores,  unimbezzled, 
with  a  seasonable  delivery  of  all  captives ;  together  with  a  sur- 
render of  all  your  persons  and  estates  to  my  dispose :  upon  the 
doing  whereof,  you  may  expect  mercy  from  me,  as  a  Christian, 
according  to  what  shall  be  found  for  their  Majesties'  service 
and  the  subjects'  security.  Which,  if  you  refuse  forthwith  to 
do,  I  am  come  provided,  and  am  resolved,  by  the  help  of  God, 
in  whom  I  trust,  by  force  of  arms  to  revenge  all  wrongs  and 
injuries  offered,  and  bring  you  under  subjection  to  the  Crown 
of  England,  and,  when  too  late,  make  you  wrish  you  had  ac- 
cepted of  the  favour  tendered. 

"  Your  answer  positive  in  an  hour,  returned  by  your  own 
trumpet,  with  the  return  of  mine,  is  required  upon  the  peril 
that  will  ensue."  1 

1  See  the  Letter  in  Mather,  Magnolia,  I.  186.  The  French  kept  a 
copy  of  it,  which,  with  an  accurate  translation,  in  parallel  columns,  was 
sent  to  Versailles,  and  is  still  preserved  in  the  Archives  de  la  Marine. 
The  text  answers  perfectly  to  that  given  by  Mather. 


1690.]  REPLY  OF  FRONTENAC.  267 

When  the  reading  was  finished,  the  Englishman 
pulled  his  watch  from  his  pocket,  and  handed  it  to 
the  governor.  Frontenac  could  not,  or  pretended 
that  he  could  not,  see  the  hour.  The  messenger 
thereupon  told  him  that  it  was  ten  o'clock,  and 
that  he  must  have  his  answer  before  eleven.  A 
general  cry  of  indignation  arose ;  and  Valrenne 
called  out  that  Phips  was  nothing  but  a  pirate,  and 
that  his  man  ought  to  be  hanged.  Frontenac  con- 
tained himself  for  a  moment,  and  then  said  to  the 
envoy : — 

"  I  will  not  keep  you  waiting  so  long.  Tell 
your  general  that  I  clo  not  recognize  King  William ; 
and  that  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  so  styles  him- 
self, is  a  usurper,  who  has  violated  the  most  sacred 
laws  of  blood  in  attempting  to  dethrone  his  father- 
in-law.  I  know  no  king  of  England  but  King 
James.  Your  general  ought  not  to  be  surprised 
at  the  hostilities  which  he  says  that  the  French 
have  carried  on  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts ; 
for,  as  the  king  my  master  has  taken  the  king  of 
England  under  his  protection,  and  is  about  to  re- 
place him  on  his  throne  by  force  of  arms,  he  might 
have  expected  that  his  Majesty  would  order  me  to 
make  war  on  a  people  who  have  rebelled  against 
their  lawful  prince."  Then,  turning  with  a  smile 
to  the  officers  about  him  :  "  Even  if  your  general 
offered  me  conditions  a  little  more  gracious,  and  if 
I  had  a  mind  to  accept  them,  does  he  suppose  that 
these  brave  gentlemen  would  give  their  consent, 
and  advise  me  to  trust  a  man  who  broke  his  agree- 
ment with  the  governor  of  Port  Royal,  or  a  rebel 


268  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

who  has  failed  in  his  duty  to  his  king,  and  forgot- 
ten all  the  favors  he  had  received  from  him,  to 
follow  a  prince  who  pretends  to  be  the  liberator  of 
England  and  the  defender  of  the  faith,  and  yet 
destroys  the  laws  and  privileges  of  the  kingdom 
and  overthrows  its  religion  ?  The  divine  justice 
which  your  general  invokes  in  his  letter  will  not 
fail  to  punish  such  acts  severely." 

The  messenger  seemed  astonished  and  startled ; 
but  he  presently  asked  if  the  governor  would  give 
him  his  answer  in  writing. 

"  No,"  returned  Frontenac,  "  I  will  answer  your 
general  only  by  the  mouths  of  my  cannon,  that  he 
may  learn  that  a  man  like  me  is  not  to  be  sum- 
moned after  this  fashion.  Let  him  do  his  best,  and 
I  will  do  mine  ;  "  and  he  dismissed  the  Englishman 
abruptly.  He  was  again  blindfolded,  led  over  the 
barricades,  and  sent  back  to  the  fleet  by  the  boat 
that  brought  him.1 

Phips  had  often  given  proof  of  personal  courage, 
but  for  the  past  three  weeks  his  conduct  seems  that 
of  a  man  conscious  that  he  is  charged  with  a  work 
too  large  for  his  capacity.  He  had  spent  a  good 
part  of  his  time  in  holding  councils  of  war;  and 
now,  when  he  heard  the  answer  of  Frontenac,  he 
called  another  to  consider  what  should  be  clone.  A 
plan  of  attack  was  at  length  arranged.  The  mili- 
tia were  to  be  landed  on  the  shore  of  Beauport, 
which  was  just   below  Quebec,  though  separated 

1  Lettre  de  Sir  William  Phips  a  M.  de  Frontenac,  avec  sa  Re'ponse  ver- 
bal e ;  Relation  de  re  cjui  s'est  passtf a  la  Dcsrente  des  Ancjlois  a  Quebec au  mois 
d'Octobre,  1600.  Compare  Monseignat,  Relation.  The  English  accounts, 
though  more  brief,  confirm  those  of  the  French. 


1690.]  PLAN   OF  ATTACK.  269 

from  it  by  the  St.  Charles.  They  were  then  to 
cross  this  river  by  a  ford  practicable  at  low  water, 
climb  the  heights  of  St.  Genevieve,  and  gain  the 
rear  of  the  town.  The  small  vessels  of  the  fleet 
were  to  aid  the  movement  by  ascending  the  St. 
Charles  as  far  as  the  ford,  holding  the  enemy  in 
check  by  their  lire,  and  carrying  provisions,  ammu- 
nition, and  intrenching  tools,  for  the  use  of  the 
land  troops.  When  these  had  crossed  and  were 
ready  to  attack  Quebec  in  the  rear,  Phips  was  to 
cannonade  it  in  front,  and  land  two  hundred  men 
under  cover  of  his  guns  to  effect  a  diversion  by 
storming  the  barricades.  Some  of  the  French  pris- 
oners, from  whom  their  captors  appear  to  have 
received  a  great  deal  of  correct  information,  told 
the  admiral  that  there  was  a  place  a  mile  or  two 
above  the  town  where  the  heights  might  be  scaled 
and  the  rear  of  the  fortifications  reached  from  a 
direction  opposite  to  that  proposed.  This  was  pre- 
cisely the  movement  by  which  Wolfe  afterwards 
gained  his  memorable  victory ;  but  Phips  chose  to 
abide  by  the  original  plan.1 

While  the  plan  was  debated,  the  opportunity  for 
accomplishing  it  ebbed  away.  It  was  still  early 
when  the  messenger  returned  from  Quebec ;  but, 
before  Phips  was  ready  to  act,  the  day  was  on  the 
wane  and  the  tide  was  against  him.  He  lay  quietly 
at  his  moorings  when,  in  the  evening,  a  great  shout- 
ing, mingled  with  the  roll  of  drums  and  the  sound 
of  fifes,  was  heard  from  the   Upper  Town.     The 

1  Journal  of  Major  Wallet/;  Savage,  Account  of  the  Late  Action  of  the 
New  Englanders  (Lond.  1691). 


270  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

English  officers  asked  their  prisoner,  Granville, 
what  it  meant.  "  Ma  foi,  Messieurs,"  he  replied, 
"  you  have  lost  the  game.  It  is  the  governor  of 
Montreal  with  the  people  from  the  country  above. 
There  is  nothing  for  you  now  but  to  pack  and  go 
home."  In  fact,  Callieres  had  arrived  with  seven 
or  eight  hundred  men,  many  of  them  regulars. 
With  these  were  bands  of  coareurs  cle  bois  and  other 
young  Canadians,  all  full  of  fight,  singing  and 
whooping  with  martial  glee  as  they  passed  the 
western  gate  and  trooped  down  St.  Louis  Street.1 

The  next  clay  was  gusty  and  blustering  ;  and  still 
Phips  lay  quiet,  waiting  on  the  winds  and  the  waves. 
A  small  vessel,  with  sixty  men  on  board,  under  Cap- 
tain Ephraim  Savage,  ran  in  towards  the  shore  of 
Beauport  to  examine  the  landing,  and  stuck  fast  in 
the  much  The  Canadians  plied  her  with  bullets, 
and  brought  a  cannon  to  bear  on  her.  They  might 
have  wadecl  out  and  boarded  her,  but  Savage  and 
his  men  kept  up  so  hot  a  fire  that  they  forbore 
the  attempt;  and,  when  the  tide  rose,  she  floated 
again. 

There  was  another  night  of  tranquillity ;  but  at 
about  eleven  on  Wednesday  morning  the  French 
heard  the  English  fifes  and  drums  in  full  action, 
while  repeated  shouts  of  "  God  save  King  William !  " 
rose  from  all  the  vessels.  This  lasted  an  hour  or 
more  ;  after  which  a  great  number  of  boats,  loaded 
with  men,  put  out  from  the  fleet  and  rowed  rapidly 
towards  the  shore  of  Beauport.  The  tide  was  low, 
and  the  boats  grounded  before  reaching  the  land- 

1  Juchereau,  325,  326. 


1690.]  SKIRMISHING.  271 

ing-place.  The  French  on  the  rock  could  see  the 
troops  through  telescopes,  looking  in  the  distance 
like  a  swarm  of  black  ants,  as  they  waded  through 
mud  and  water,  and  formed  in  companies  along  the 
strand.  They  were  some  thirteen  hundred  in  num- 
ber, and  were  commanded  by  Major  Walley.1  Fron- 
tenac  had  sent  three  hundred  sharpshooters,  under 
Sainte-Helene,  to  meet  them  and  hold  them  in 
check.  A  battalion  of  troops  followed;  but,  long 
before  they  could  reach  the  spot,  Sainte-Helene's 
men,  with  a  few  militia  from  the  neighboring  par- 
ishes, and  a  band  of  Huron  warriors  from  Lorette, 
threw  themselves  into  the  thickets  along  the  front 
of  the  English,  and  opened  a  distant  but  galling 
fire  upon  the  compact  bodies  of  the  enemy.  Wal- 
ley ordered  a  charge.  The  New  England  men 
rushed,  in  a  disorderly  manner,  but  with  great  im- 
petuosity, up  the  rising  ground ;  received  two  vol- 
leys, which  failed  to  check  them ;  and  drove  back 
the  assailants  in  some  confusion.  They  turned, 
however,  and  fought  in  Indian  fashion  with  courage 
and  address,  leaping  and  dodging  among  trees, 
rocks,  and  bushes,  firing  as  they  retreated,  and 
inflicting  more  harm  than  they  received.  Towards 
evening  they  disappeared ;  and  Walley,  whose  men 
had  been  much  scattered  in  the  desultory  fight, 
drew  them  together  as  well  as  he  could,  and  advanced 
towards  the  St.  Charles,  in  order  to  meet  the  ves- 
sels which  were  to  aid  him  in  passing  the  ford. 

1  "  Between  12  and  1,300  men."  Walley,  Journal.  "  About  1,200  men." 
Savage,  Account  of  the  Late  Action.  Savage  was  second  in  command  of 
the  militia.  Mather  says,  1,400.  Most  of  the  French  accounts  say,  1,500. 
Some  say,  2,000 ;  and  La  Hontan  raises  the  number  to  3,000. 


272  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1000. 

Here  lie  posted  sentinels,  and  encamped  for  the 
night.  He  had  lost  four  killed  and  about  sixty 
wounded,  and  imagined  that  he  had  killed  twenty 
or  thirty  of  the  enemy.  In  fact,  however,  their 
loss  was  much  less,  though  among  the  killed  was 
a  valuable  officer,  the  Chevalier  de  Clermont,  and 
among  the  wounded  the  veteran  captain  of  Beau- 
port,  Juchereau  de  Saint-Denis,  more  than  sixty- 
four  years  of  age.  In  the  evening,  a  deserter  came 
to  the  English  camp,  and  brought  the  unwelcome 
intelligence  that  there  were  three  thousand  armed 
men  in  Quebec.1 

Meanwhile,  Phips,  whose  fault  hitherto  had  not 
been  an  excess  of  promptitude,  grew  impatient,  and 
made  a  premature  movement  inconsistent  with  the 
preconcerted  plan.  He  left  his  moorings,  anchored 
his  largest  ships  before  the  town,  and  prepared  to 
cannonade  it;  but  the  fiery  veteran,  who  watched 
him  from  the  Chateau  St.  Louis,  anticipated  him, 
and  gave  him  the  first  shot.  Phips  replied  furi- 
ously, opening  fire  with  every  gun  that  he  could 
bring  to  bear  ;  while  the  rock  paid  him  back  in  kind, 

1  On  this  affair,  Walley,  Journal;  Savage,  Account  of  the  Late  Action 
(in  a  letter  to  his  brother) ;  Monseignat,  Relation ;  Relation  de  la  Descente 
des  Anghis;  Relation  de  1682-1712;  La  Hontan,  I.  213.  "M.  le  comte 
de  Frontenac  se  trouva  avee  3,000  hommes."  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada, 
a.d.  1690.  The  prisoner  Captain  Sylvanus  Davis,  in  his  diary,  says,  as 
already  mentioned,  that  on  the  day  before  Phips's  arrival  so  many  reg- 
ulars and  militia  arrived  that,  with  those  who  came  with  Frontenac, 
there  were  about  2,700.  This  was  before  the  arrival  of  Callieres,  who, 
according  to  Davis,  brought  but  300.  Thus  the  three  accounts  of  the 
deserter,  Belmont,  and  Davis,  tally  exactly  as  to  the  sum  total. 

An  enemy  of  Frontenac  writes,  "  Ce  n'est  pas  sa  presence  qui  fit 
prendre  la  fuite  aux  Anglois,  mais  le  grand  nombre  de  Francois  aux- 
quels  ils  virent  bien  que  eeluy  de  leurs  guerriers  n'etoit  pas  capable  de 
faire  tete."     Re  marques  sur  VOraison  Funebre  de  feu  M.  de  Frontenac. 


1690.]  THE   CANNONADE.  273 

and  belched  flame  and  smoke  from  all  its  batteries. 
So  fierce  and  rapid  was  the  firing,  that  La  Hon- 
tan  compares  it  to  volleys  of  musketry  ;  and  old 
officers,  who  had  seen  many  sieges,  declared  that 
they  had  never  known  the  like.1  The  din  was  pro- 
digious, reverberated  from  the  surrounding  heights, 
and  rolled  back  from  the  distant  mountains  in  one 
continuous  roar.  On  the  part  of  the  English,  how- 
ever, surprisingly  little  was  accomplished  beside 
noise  and  smoke.  The  practice  of  their  gunners 
was  so  bad  that  many  of  their  shot  struck  harm- 
lessly against  the  face  of  the  cliff.  Their  guns, 
too,  were  very  light,  and  appear  to  have  been 
charged  with  a  view  to  the  most  rigid  economy  of 
gunpowder ;  for  the  balls  failed  to  pierce  the  stone 
walls  of  the  buildings,  and  did  so  little  damage  that, 
as  the  French  boasted,  twenty  crowns  would  have 
repaired  it  all.2  Night  came  at  length,  and  the 
turmoil  ceased. 

Phips  lay  quiet  till  daybreak,  when  Frontenac 
sent  a  shot  to  waken  him,  and  the  cannonade  began 
again.  Sainte-Helene  had  returned  from  Beauport ; 
and  he,  with  his  brother  Maricourt,  took  charge 
of  the  two  batteries  of  the  Lower  Town,  aiming  the 
guns  in  person,  and  throwing  balls  of  eighteen  and 
twenty-four  pounds  with  excellent  precision  against 
the  four  largest  ships  of  the  fleet.  One  of  their 
shots  cut  the  flagstaff  of  the  admiral,  and  the  cross 
of  St.  George  fell  into  the  river.  It  drifted  with 
the  tide  towards  the  north  shore ;  whereupon  sev- 

1  La  Hontan,  I.  216;  Juchereau,  320. 

2  Fere  Germain,  Relation  cle  la  Defaite  des  Anglois. 

18 


274  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

eral  Canadians  padclled  out  in  a  birch  canoe,  secured 
it,  and  brought  it  back  in  triumph.  On  the  spire 
of  the  cathedral  in  the  Upper  Town  had  been  hung 
a  picture  of  the  Holy  Family,  as  an  invocation  of 
divine  aid.  The  Puritan  gunners  wasted  their  am- 
munition in  vain  attempts  to  knock  it  down.  That 
it  escaped  their  malice  was  ascribed  to  miracle,  but 
the  miracle  would  have  been  greater  if  they  had 
hit  it. 

At  length,  one  of  the  ships,  which  had  suffered 
most,  hauled  off  and  abandoned  the  fight.  That  of 
the  admiral  had  fared  little  better,  and  now  her 
condition  grew  desperate.  With  her  rigging  torn, 
her  mainmast  half  cut  through,  her  mizzen-mast 
splintered,  her  cabin  pierced,  and  her  hull  riddled 
with  shot,  another  volley  seemed  likely  to  sink  her, 
when  Phips  ordered  her  to  be  cut  loose  from  her 
moorings,  and  she  drifted  out  of  fire,  leaving  cable 
and  anchor  behind.  The  remaining  ships  soon 
£ave  over  the  conflict,  and  withdrew  to  stations 
where  they  could  neither  clo  harm  nor  suffer  it.1 

Phips  had  thrown  away  nearly  all  his  ammuni- 
tion in  this  futile  and  disastrous  attack,  which  should 
have  been  deferred  till  the  moment  when  Walley, 
with  his  land  force,  had  gained  the  rear  of  the 
town.  Walley  lay  in  his  camp,  his  men  wet,  shiver- 
ing with  cold,  famished,  and  sickening  with  the 
small-pox.  Food,  and  all  other  supplies,  were  to 
have  been  brought  him  by  the  small  vessels,  which 

1  Besides  authorities  before  cited,  Le  Clercq,  Etablissement  de  la 
Fon, 11.  434;  La  Potherie,  III.  118;  Rapport  de  Champigny,  Oct.,  1690; 
Laval,  Lettre  a .  20  Nov.,  1600. 


1690.]  THE  LAND  ATTACK.  275 

should  have  entered  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Charles 
and  aided  him  to  cross  it.  But  he  waited  for  them 
in  vain.  Every  vessel  that  carried  a  gun  had  busied 
itself  in  cannonading,  and  the  rest  did  not  move. 
There  appears  to  have  been  insubordination  among 
the  masters  of  these  small  craft,  some  of  whom,  be- 
ing owners  or  part-owners  of  the  vessels  they  com- 
manded, were  probably  unwilling  to  run  them  into 
clanger.  Walley  was  no  soldier ;  but  he  saw  that  to 
attempt  the  passage  of  the  river  without  aid,  under 
the  batteries  of  the  town  and  in  the  face  of  forces 
twice  as  numerous  as  his  own,  was  not  an  easy  task. 
Frontenac,  on  his  part,  says  that  he  wished  him  to 
do  so,  knowing  that  the  attempt  would  ruin  him.1 
The  New  England  men  were  eager  to  push  on ; 
but  the  night  of  Thursday,  the  day  of  Phips's  re- 
pulse, was  so  cold  that  ice  formed  more  than  an 
inch  in  thickness,  and  the  half-starved  militia  suf- 
fered intensely.  Six  field-pieces,  with  their  ammu- 
nition, had  been  sent  ashore ;  but  they  were  nearly 
useless,  as  there  were  no  means  of  moving  them. 
Half  a  barrel  of  musket  powder,  and  one  biscuit  for 
each  man,  were  also  landed ;  and  with  this  meagre 
aid  Walley  was  left  to  capture  Quebec.  He  might, 
had  he  dared,-  have  made  a  dash  across  the  ford  on 
the  morning  of  Thursday,  and  assaulted  the  town 
in  the  rear  while  Phips  was  cannonading  it  in  front ; 
but  his  courage  was  not  equal  to  so  desperate  a 
venture.  The  firing  ceased,  and  the  possible  op- 
portunity was  lost.  The  citizen  soldier  despaired 
of  success ;  and,  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  he  went 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  12  et  19  Nov.,  1690. 


276  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

on  board  the  admiral's  ship  to  explain  his  situation. 
While  he  was  gone,  his  men  put  themselves  in  motion, 
and  advanced  along  the  borders  of  the  St.  Charles 
towards  the  ford.  Frontenac,  with  three  battalions 
of  regular  troops,  went  to  receive  them  at  the  cross- 
ing ;  while  Sainte-Helene,  with  his  brother  Lon- 
gueuil,  passed  the  ford  with  a  body  of  Canadians,  and 
opened  fire  on  them  from  the  neighboring  thickets. 
Their  advance  parties  were  driven  in,  and  there 
wras  a  hot  skirmish,  the  chief  loss  falling  on  the  New 
England  men,  who  were  fully  exposed.  On  the 
side  of  the  French,  Sainte-Helene  was  mortally 
wounded,  and  his  brother  was  hurt  by  a  spent  ball. 
Towards  evening,  the  Canadians  withdrew,  and  the 
English  encamped  for  the  night.  Their  com- 
mander presently  rejoined  them.  The  admiral 
had  given  him  leave  to  withdraw  them  to  the  fleet, 
and  boats  were  accordingly  sent  to  bring  them  off ; 
but,  as  these  did  not  arrive  till  about  daybreak,  it 
was  necessary  to  defer  the  embarkation  till  the 
next  night. 

At  dawn,  Quebec  was  all  astir  with  the  beating 
of  drums  and  the  ringing  of  bells.  The  New  Eng- 
land drums  replied ;  and  Walley  drew  up  his  men 
under  arms,  expecting  an  attack,  for  the  town 
was  so  near  that  the  hubbub  of  voices  from  within 
could  plainly  be  heard.  The  noise  gradually  died 
away  ;  and,  except  a  few  shots  from  the  ramparts, 
the  invaders  were  left  undisturbed.  Walley  sent 
two  or  three  companies  to  beat  up  the  neighboring 
thickets,  where  he  suspected  that  the  enemy  was 
lurking.     On  the  way,  they  had  the  good  luck  to 


1690.]  THE   ENGLISH  DISCOMFITED.  277 

find  and  kill  a  number  of  cattle,  which  they  cooked 
and  ate  on  the  spot ;  whereupon,  being  greatly 
refreshed  and  invigorated,  they  clashed  forward  in 
complete  disorder,  and  were  soon  met  by  the  fire 
of  the  ambushed  Canadians.  Several  more  com- 
panies were  sent  to  their  support,  and  the  skirmish- 
ing became  lively.  Three  detachments  from  Quebec 
had  crossed  the  river ;  and  the  militia  of  Beauport 
and  Beaupre  had  hastened  to  join  them.  They 
fought  like  Indians,  hiding  behind  trees  or  throw- 
ing themselves  flat  among  the  bushes,  and  laying 
repeated  ambuscades  as  they  slowly  fell  back.  At 
length,  they  all  made  a  stand  on  a  hill  behind  the 
buildings  and  fences  of  a  farm  ;  and  here  they  held 
their  ground  till  night,  while  the  New  England 
men  taunted  them  as  cowards  who  would  never 
fight  except  under  cover.1 

Walley,  who  with  his  main  body  had  stood  in 
arms  all  day,  now  called  in  the  skirmishers,  and 
fell  back  to  the  landing-place,  where,  as  soon  as  it 
grew  dark,  the  boats  arrived  from  the  fleet.  The 
sick  men,  of  whom  there  were  many,  were  sent  on 
board,  and  then,  amid  floods  of  rain,  the  whole 
force  embarked  in  noisy  confusion,  leaving  behind 
them  in  the  mud  five  of  their  cannon.  Hasty  as 
was  their  parting,  their  conduct  on  the  whole  had 
been  creditable  ;  and  La  Hontan,  who  was  in  Quebec 
at  the  time,  says  of  them,  "  They  fought  vigor- 
ously, though  as  ill-disciplined  as  men  gathered 
together  at  random  could  be ;  for  they  did  not 
lack  courage,  and,  if  they  failed,  it  was  by  reason 

1  Relation  de  la  Descente  des  Anglois. 


278  DEFENCE   OF    QUEBEC.  [1690. 

of  their  entire  ignorance  of  discipline,  and  be- 
cause they  were  exhausted  by  the  fatigues  of  the 
voyage."  Of  Phips  he  speaks  with  contempt,  and 
says  that  he  could  not  have  served  the  French 
better  if  they  had  bribed  him  to  stand  all  the  while 
with  his  arms  folded.  Some  allowance  should, 
nevertheless,  be  made  him  for  the  unmanageable 
character  of  the  force  under  his  command,  the 
constitution  of  which  was  fatal  to  military  sub- 
ordination. 

On  Sunday,  the  morning  after  the  re-embarka- 
tion, Phips  called  a  council  of  officers,  and  it  was 
resolved  that  the  men  should  rest  for  a  clay  or  two, 
that  there  should  be  a  meeting  for  prayer,  and  that, 
if  ammunition  enough  could  be  found,  another  land- 
ing should  be  attempted ;  but  the  rough  weather 
£>revented  the  prayer- meeting,  and  the  plan  of  a 
new  attack  was  fortunately  abandoned. 

Quebec  remained  in  agitation  and  alarm  till 
Tuesday,  when  Phips  weighed  anchor  and  disap- 
peared, with  all  his  fleet,  behind  the  Island  of 
Orleans.  He  did  not  go  far,  as  indeed  he  could 
not,  but  stopped  four  leagues  below  to  mend  rig- 
ging, fortify  wounded  masts,  and  stop  shot-holes. 
Subercase  had  gone  with  a  detachment  to  watch 
the  retiring  enemy ;  and  Phips  was  repeatedly 
seen  among  his  men,  on  a  scaffold  at  the  side  of 
his  ship,  exercising  his  old  trade  of  carpenter. 
This  delay  was  turned  to  good  use  by  an  exchange 
of  prisoners.  Chief  among  those  in  the  hands  of 
the  French  was  Captain  Davis,  late  commander  at 
Casco  Bay  ;  and  there  were  also  two  young  claugh- 


1690.]  CONDITION  OF   QUEBEC.  279 

ters  of  Lieutenant  Clark,  who  had  been  killed  at 
the  same  place.  Frontenac  himself  had  humanely 
ransomed  these  children  from  the  Indians  ;  and 
Madame  de  Champigny,  wife  of  the  intendant, 
had,  with  equal  kindness,  bought  from  them  a 
little  girl  named  Sarah  Gerrish,  and  placed  her 
in  charge  of  the  nuns  at  the  Hotel-Dieu,  who  had 
become  greatly  attached  to  her,  while  she,  on  her 
part,  left  them  with  reluctance.  The  French  had 
the  better  in  these  exchanges,  receiving  able- 
bodied  men,  and  returning,  with  the  exception  of 
Davis,  only  women  and  children. 

The  heretics  were  gone,  and  Quebec  breathed 
freely  again.  Her  escape  had  been  a  narrow  one ; 
not  that  three  thousand  men,  in  part  regular  troops, 
defending  one  of  the  strongest  positions  on  the 
continent,  and  commanded  by  Frontenac,  could 
not  defy  the  attacks  of  two  thousand  raw  fishermen 
and  farmers,  led  by  an  ignorant  civilian,  but  the 
numbers  which  were  a  source  of  strength  were  at 
the  same  time  a  source  of  weakness.1  Nearly  all 
the  adult  males  of  Canada  were  gathered  at  Quebec, 
and  there  was  imminent  danger  of  starvation. 
Cattle  from  the  neighboring  parishes  had  been 
hastily  driven  into  the  town ;  but  there  was  little 
other  provision,  and  before  Phips  retreated  the 
pinch  of  famine  had  begun.  Had  he  come  a  week 
earlier  or  stayed  a  week  later,  the  French  them- 

1  The  small-pox  had  left  probably  less  than  2,000  effective  men  in 
the  fleet  when  it  arrived  before  Quebec.  The  number  of  regular  troops 
in  Canada  by  the  roll  of  1689  was  1.418.  Nothing  had  since  occurred  to 
greatly  diminish  the  number.  Callieres  left  about  fifty  in  Montreal,  and 
perhaps  also  a  few  in  the  neighboring  forts.     The  rest  were  in  Quebec. 


280  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

selves  believed  that  Quebec  would  have  fallen,  in 
the  one  case  for  want  of  men,  and  in  the  other  for 
want  of  food. 

The  Lower  Town  had  been  abandoned  by  its 
inhabitants,  who  bestowed  their  families  and  their 
furniture  within  the  solid  walls  of  the  seminary. 
The  cellars  of  the  Ursuline  convent  were  filled  with 
women  and  children,  and  many  more  took  refuge 
at  the  Hotel-Dieu.  The  beans  and  cabbages  in  the 
garden  of  the  nuns  were  all  stolen  by  the  soldiers  ; 
and  their  wood-pile  was  turned  into  bivouac  fires. 
"  We  were  more  dead  than  alive  when  we  heard 
the  cannon,"  writes  Mother  Juchereau  ;  but  the  Jes- 
uit Fremin  came  to  console  them,  and  their  prayers 
and  their  labors  never  ceased.  On  the  day  when 
the  firing  was  heaviest,  twenty-six  balls  fell  into 
their  }~ard  and  garden,  and  were  sent  to  the  gun- 
ners at  the  batteries,  who  returned  them  to  their 
English  owners.  At  the  convent  of  the  Ursulines, 
the  corner  of  a  nun's  apron  was  carried  off  by  a 
cannon-shot  as  she  passed  through  her  chamber. 
The  sisterhood  began  a  novena,  or  nine  days'  devo- 
tion, to  St.  Joseph,  St.  Ann,  the  angels,  and  the 
souls  in  purgatory ;  and  one  of  their  number  re- 
mained clay  and  night  in  prayer  before  the  images 
of  the  Holy  Family.  The  bishop  came  to  encour- 
age them ;  and  his  prayers  and  his  chants  were  so 
fervent  that  they  thought  their  last  hour  was 
come.1 

The  superior  of  the  Jesuits,  with  some  of  the 
elder  members  of  the  Order,  remained  at  their  col- 

1  Eecil  d'une  Rdigieuse  Ursuline,  in  Les  Ursulines  de  Quebec,  I.  470 


1690.]  ALARM   OF   THE   FRENCH.  281 

lege  during  the  attack,  ready,  should  the  heretics 
prevail,  to  repair  to  their  chapel,  and  die  before 
the  altar.  Rumor  exasperated  the  numbers  of  the 
enemy,  and  a  general  alarm  pervaded  the  town. 
It  was  still  greater  at  Lorette,  nine  miles  distant. 
The  warriors  of  that  mission  were  in  the  first  skir- 
mish at  Beauport ;  and  two  of  them,  running  off  in  a 
fright,  reported  at  the  village  that  the  enemy  were 
carrying  every  thing  before  them.  On  this,  the 
villagers  fled  to  the  woods,  followed  by  Father  Ger- 
main, their  missionary,  to  whom  this  hasty  exodus 
suggested  the  flight  of  the  Holy  Family  into  Egypt.1 
The  Jesuits  were  thought  to  have  special  reason 
to  fear  the  Puritan  soldiery,  who,  it  was  reported, 
meant  to  kill  them  all,  after  cutting  off  their  ears 
to  make  necklaces.2 

When  news  first  came  of  the  approach  of  Phips, 
the  bishop  wras  absent  on  a  pastoral  tour.  Hasten- 
ing back,  he  entered  Quebec  at  night,  by  torch- 
light, to  the  great  joy  of  its  inmates,  who  felt  that 
his  presence  brought  a  benediction.  He  issued  a 
pastoral  address,  exhorting  his  flock  to  frequent 
and  full  confession  and  constant  attendance  at  mass, 
as  the  means  of  insuring  the  success  of  their  arms.3 
Laval,  the  former  bishop,  aided  his  efforts.  "  We 
appealed,"  he  writes,  "  to  God,  his  Holy  Mother, 
to  all  the  Angels,  and  to  all  the  Saints."  4     Nor  was 

1  "  II  nous  ressouvint  alors  de  la  fuite  de  Xostre  Seigneur  en  Egypte." 
Pere  Germain,  Relation. 

2  Ibid. 

8  Lettre  pastorale  pour  disposer  les  Peuples  de  ce  Diocese  a  se  bien  deffendre 
contre  les  Angluis  (Reg.  de  l'Eveche  de  Quebec). 
*  Laval  a ,  Nov.  20,  1690. 


282  DEFE^XE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

the  appeal  in  vain :  for  each  day  seemed  to  bring 
some  new  token  of  celestial  favor  ;  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  head-winds  which  delayed  the 
approach  of  the  enemy,  the  cold  and  the  storms 
which  hastened  his  departure,  and,  above  all.  his 
singularly  innocent  cannonade,  which  killed  but 
two  or  three  persons,  should  have  been  accepted 
as  proof  of  divine  intervention.  It  was  to  the  Holy 
Virgin  that  Quebec  had  been  most  lavish  of  its 
vows,  and  to  her  the  victory  was  ascribed. 

One  great  anxiety  still  troubled  the  minds  of  the 
victors.  Three  ships,  bringing  large  sums  of  money 
and  the  yearly  supplies  for  the  colony,  were  on 
their  way  to  Quebec  ;  and  nothing  was  more  likely 
than  that  the  retiring  fleet  would  meet  and  capture 
them.  Messengers  had  been  sent  down  the  river, 
who  passed  the  English  in  the  dark,  found  the 
ships  at  St.  Paul's  Bay,  and  warned  them  of  the 
danger.  They  turned  back,  and  hid  themselves 
within  the  mouth  of  the  Sapmenay ;  but  not  soon 
enough  to  prevent  Phips  from  discovering  their 
retreat.  He  tried  to  follow  them  ;  but  thick  fogs 
arose,  with  a  persistent  tempest  of  snow,  which 
completely  baffled  him,  and,  after  waiting  five 
days,  he  gave  over  the  attempt.  When  he  was 
gone,  the  three  ships  emerged  from  their  hiding- 
place,  and  sailed  again  for  Quebec,  where  they 
were  greeted  with  a  universal  jubilee.  Their  de- 
liverance was  ascribed  to  Saint  Ann,  the  mother  of 
the  Virgin,  and  also  to  St.  Francis  Xavier,  whose 
name  one  of  them  bore. 

Quebec  was  divided  between  thanksgiving  and 


1690.]  EEJOICIXGS  AT    QUEBEC.  283 

rejoicing.  The  captured  flag  of  Phips's  ship  was 
borne  to  the  cathedral  in  triumph ;  the  bishop 
sang  Te  Deum ;  and,  amid  the  firing  of  cannon, 
the  image  of  the  Virgin  was  carried  to  each  church 
and  chapel  in  the  place  by  a  procession,  in  which 
priests,  people,  and  troops  all  took  part.  The  day 
closed  with  a  grand  bonfire  in  honor  of  Fron- 
tenac. 

One  of  the  three  ships  carried  back  the  news  of 
the  victory,  which  was  hailed  with  joy  at  Ver- 
sailles ;  and  a  medal  was  struck  to  commemorate 
it.  The  ship  carried  also  a  despatch  from  Fron- 
tenac.  "  Now  that  the  king  has  triumphed  by 
land  and  sea,"  wrote  the  old  soldier,  "  will  he 
think  that  a  few  squadrons  of  his  navy  would  be 
ill  employed  in  punishing  the  insolence  of  these 
genuine  old  parliamentarians  of  Boston,  and  crush- 
ing them  in  their  den  and  the  English  of  New  York 
as  well  ?  By  mastering  these  two  towns,  we  shall 
secure  the  whole  sea-coast,  besides  the  fisheries  of 
the  Grand  Bank,  which  is  no  slight  matter :  and 
this  would  be  the  true,  and  perhaps  the  only,  way 
of  bringing  the  wars  of  Canada  to  an  end ;  for, 
when  the  English  are  conquered,  we  can  easily  re- 
duce the  Iroquois  to  complete  submission."  l 

Phips  returned  crestfallen  to  Boston  late  in 
November ;  and  one  by  one  the  rest  of  the  fleet 
came  straggling  after  him,  battered  and  weather- 
beaten.  Some  did  not  appear  till  February,  and 
three  or  four  never  came  at  all.  The  autumn  and 
early  winter  were  unusually  stormy.  Captain 
Rainsford,  with  sixty  men,  was  wrecked  on  the 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  9  et  12  Nov.,  1690. 


284  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

Island  of  Anticosti,  where  more  than  half  their 
number  died  of  cold  and  misery.1  In  the  other 
vessels,  some  were  drowned,  some  frost-bitten,  and 
above  two  hundred  killed  by  small-pox  and  fever. 
At  Boston,  all  was  dismay  and  gloom.  The 
Puritan  bowed  before  "  this  awful  frown  of  God," 
and  searched  his  conscience  for  the  sin  that  had 
brought  upon  him  so  stern  a  chastisement.2  Mas- 
sachusetts, already  impoverished,  found  herself  in 
extremity.  The  war,  instead  of  paying  for  itself, 
had  burdened  her  with  an  additional  debt  of  fifty 
thousand  pounds.3  The  sailors  and  soldiers  were 
clamorous  for  their  pay ;  and,  to  satisfy  them,  the 
colony  was  forced  for  the  first  time  in  its  history  to 
issue  a  paper  currency.  It  was  made  receivable  at 
a  premium  for  all  public  debts,  and  was  also  forti- 
fied by  a  provision  for  its  early  redemption  by 
taxation  ;  a  provision  which  was  carried  into  effect 
in  spite  of  poverty  and  distress.4 

1  Mather,  Magnolia,  I.  192. 

2  The  Governor  and  Council  to  the  Agents  of  Massachusetts,  in  Andros 
Tracts,  III.  53. 

3  Address  of  the  Gentry,  Merchants,  and  others,  Ibid.,  II.  236. 

4  The  following  is  a  literal  copy  of  a  specimen  of  this  paper  money, 
which  varied  in  value  from  two  shillings  to  ten  pounds  :  — 

No.  (2161)  10* 
This  Indented  Bill  of  Ten  Shillings,  due  from  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  to  the  Possessor,  shall  be  in  value  equal  to  Money,  and  shall  be 
accordingly  accepted  by  the  Treasurer  and  Receivers  subordinate  to 
him  in  all  Publick  Payments,  and  for  any  Stock  at  any  time  in  the 
Treasury  Boston  in  New  England,  December  the  10'.h  1690.  By  Order 
of  the  General  Court. 


Seal  of 
Massachu- 
setts. 


Peter  Townsexd  ~\ 
Adam  Winthrop    >  Com'" 
Tim.  Thornton      ) 


When  this  paper  came  into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  it  was  burned. 
Nevertheless,  owing  to  the  temporary  character  of  the  provisional  gov- 


1690.]  MISTAKE   OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  285 

Massachusetts  had  made  her  usual  mistake.  She 
had  confidently  believed  that  ignorance  and  inex- 
perience could  match  the  skill  of  a  tried  veteran,  and 
that  the  rude  courage  of  her  fishermen  and  farmers 
could  triumph  without  discipline  or  leadership. 
The  conditions  of  her  material  prosperity  were 
adverse  to  efficiency  in  war.  A  trading  republic, 
without  trained  officers,  may  win  victories ;  but  it 
wins  them  either  by  accident  or  by  an  extravagant 
outlay  in  money  and  life. 

ernment,  it  fell  for  a  time   to  the  value   of  from   fourteen   to   sixteen 
shillings  in  the  pound. 

In  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  is  the  original  draft  of  a  remarkable 
map,  by  the  engineer  Villeneuve,  of  which  a  facsimile  is  before  me.  It 
represents  in  detail  the  town  and  fortifications  of  Quebec,  the  surround- 
ing country,  and  the  positions  of  the  English  fleet  and  land  forces,  and 
is  entitled  PLAN  DE  QUEBEC,  et  de  ses  Enuirons,  EN  LA  NOU- 
VELLE  FRANCE,  ASSIEGE  PAR  LPS  ANGLOIS,  h  16  cTOc- 
tobre  1690  jusqu'au  22  dud.  mois  qu'ils  s'en  afferent,  appres  auoir  este  bien 
battus  PAR  Mr.  LE  COMTE  DE  FRONTENAC,  gouuemeur  general 
da  Pays. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

1690-1694. 
THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA. 

Iroquois  Inroads.  —  Death  op  Bienville.  —  English  Attack. — 
A  Desperate  Fight.  —  Miseries  op  the  Colony.  —  Alarms. — 
A  Winter  Expedition. — La  Chesnate  burned.  —  The  Heroine 
of  Vercheres.  —  Mission  Indians.  —  The  Mohawk  Expedition. 
—  Retreat  and  Pursuit. — Relief  arrives.  —  Frontenac  Tri- 
umphant. 

One  of  Phips's  officers,  charged  with  the  exchange 
of  prisoners  at  Quebec,  said  as  he  took  his  leave, 
"  We  shall  make  you  another  visit  in  the  spring ;  " 
and  a  French  officer  returned,  with  martial  courtesy, 
"  We  shall  have  the  honor  of  meeting  you  before 
that  time."  Neither  side  made  good  its  threat,  for 
both  wrere  too  weak  and  too  poor.  No  more  war- 
parties  were  sent  that  winter  to  ravage  the  English 
border ;  for  neither  blankets,  clothing,  ammunition, 
nor  food  could  be  spared.  The  fields  had  lain  un- 
tilled  over  half  Canada ;  and,  though  four  ships  had 
arrived  with  supplies,  twice  as  many  had  been  cap- 
tured or  driven  back  by  English  cruisers  in  the 
Gulf.  The  troops  could  not  be  kept  together ;  and 
they  were  quartered  for  subsistence  upon  the  set- 
tlers, themselves  half  famished. 

Spring  came  at  length,  and  brought  with  it  the 


1691.]  IROQUOIS  INROADS.  287 

swallows,  the  bluebirds,  and  the  Iroquois.  They 
rarely  came  in  winter,  when  the  trees  and  bushes 
had  no  leaves  to  hide  them,  and  their  movements 
were  betrayed  by  the  track  of  their  snow-shoes ; 
but  they  were  always  to  be  expected  at  the  time 
of  sowing  and  of  harvest,  when  they  could  do 
most  mischief.  During  April,  about  eight  hundred 
of  them,  gathering  from  their  winter  hunting- 
grounds,  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ottawa, 
whence  they  detached  parties  to  ravage  the  settle- 
ments. A  large  band  fell  upon  Point  aux  Trembles, 
below  Montreal,  burned  some  thirty  houses,  and 
killed  such  of  the  inmates  as  could  not  escape.  An- 
other band  attacked  the  Mission  of  the  Mountain, 
just  behind  the  town,  and  captured  thirty-five  of 
the  Indian  converts  in  broad  daylight.  Others 
prowled  among  the  deserted  farms  on  both  shores 
of  the  St.  Lawrence ;  while  the  inhabitants  remained 
pent  in  their  stockade  forts,  with  misery  in  the 
present  and   starvation  in  the  future. 

Troops  and  militia  were  not  wanting.  The  dif- 
ficulty was  to  find  provisions  enough  to  enable  them 
to  keep  the  field.  By  begging  from  house  to  house, 
getting  here  a  biscuit  and  there  a  morsel  of  bacon, 
enough  was  collected  to  supply  a  considerable  party 
for  a  number  of  clays ;  and  a  hundred  and  twenty 
soldiers  and  Canadians  went  out  under  Vaudreuil 
to  hunt  the  hunters  of  men.  Long  impunity  had 
made  the  Iroquois  so  careless  that  they  were  easily 
found.  A  band  of  about  forty  had  made  their 
quarters  at  a  house  near  the  fort  at  Eepentigny, 
and  here  the  French  scouts  discovered  them  early 


288  THE   SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1691. 

in  the  night.  Vauclreuil  and  his  men  were  in  ca- 
noes. They  lay  quiet  till  one  o'clock,  then  landed, 
and  noiselessly  approached  the  spot.  Some  of  the 
Iroquois  were  in  the  house,  the  rest  lay  asleep  on 
the  ground  before  it.  The  French  crept  towards 
them,  and  by  one  close  volley  killed  them  all. 
Their  comrades  within  sprang  up  in  dismay.  Three 
rushed  out,  and  were  shot :  the  others  stood  on  their 
defence,  fired  from  windows  and  loopholes,  and 
killed  six  or  seven  of  the  French,  who  presently 
succeeded  in  setting  fire  to  the  house,  which  was 
thatched  with  straw.  Young  Francois  cle  Bienville, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Charles  Le  Moyne,  rushed  up  to 
a  window,  shouted  his  name  like  an  Indian  warrior, 
fired  on  the  savages  within,  and  was  instantly  shot 
dead.  The  flames  rose  till  surrounding  objects 
were  bright  as  clay.  The  Iroquois,  driven  to  des- 
peration, burst  out  like  tigers,  and  tried  to  break 
through  their  assailants.  Only  one  succeeded.  Of 
his  companions,  some  were  shot,  five  were  knocked 
down  and  captured,  and  the  rest  driven  back  into 
the  house,  where  they  perished  in  the  fire.  Three 
of  the  prisoners  were  given  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Repentigny,  Point  aux  Trembles,  and  Boucherville, 
who,  in  their  fury,  burned  them  alive.1 

For  weeks,  the  upper  parts  of  the  colony  were 
infested  by  wolfish  bands  howling  around  the  forts, 
which  they  rarely  ventured  to  attack.  At  length, 
help  came.    A  squadron  from  France,  strong  enough 

1  Relation  de  Benac,  1691  ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe'  de  plus  conside- 
rableen  Canada,  1690,  1691;  La  Potherie,  III.  134;  Relation  de  1682-1712; 
Champigny  au  Minis! re,  12  Mai/,  1691.  The  name  of  Bienville  was  taken, 
after  his  death,  by  one  of  his  brothers,  the  founder  of  New  'Orleans. 


1691.1  IROQUOIS   AND  ENGLISH.  289 

to  beat  off  the  New  England  privateers  which  block- 
aded the  St.  Lawrence,  arrived  at  Quebec  with  men 
and  supplies ;  and  a  strong  force  was  despatched 
to  break  up  the  Iroquois  camp  at  the  Ottawa. 
The  enemy  vanished  at  its  approach ;  and  the  suf- 
fering farmers  had  a  brief  respite,  which  enabled 
them  to  sow  their  crops,  when  suddenly  a  fresh 
alarm  was  sounded  from  Sorel  to  Montreal,  and 
again  the  settlers  ran  to  their  forts  for  refuge. 

Since  the  futile  effort  of  the  year  before,  the 
English  of  New  York,  still  distracted  by  the  politi- 
cal disorders  that  followed  the  usurpation  of  Leis- 
ler,  had  fought  only  by  deputy,  and  contented 
themselves  with  hounding  on  the  Iroquois  against 
the  common  enemy.  These  savage  allies  at  length 
lost  patience,  and  charged  their  white  neighbors 
with  laziness  and  fear.  "  You  say  to  us,  '  Keep  the 
French  in  perpetual  alarm.'  Why  don't  you  say, 
6  We  will  keep  the  French  in  perpetual  alarm '  ?  "  * 
It  was  clear  that  something  must  be  done,  or  New 
York  would  be  left  to  fight  her  battles  alone.  A 
war-party  was  therefore  formed  at  Albany,  and  the 
Indians  were  invited  to  join  it.  Major  Peter  Schuy- 
ler took  command ;  and  his  force  consisted  of  two 
hundred  and  sixty-six  men,  of  whom  a  hundred  and 
twenty  were  English  and  Dutch,  and  the  rest  Mo- 
hawks and  Wolves,  or  Mohegans.2  He  advanced 
to  a  point  on  the  Eichelieu  ten  miles  above  Fort 
Chambly,  and,  leaving  his  canoes  under  a  strong 
guard,  marched  towards  La  Prairie  de  la  Madeleine, 
opposite  Montreal. 

i  Coklen,  125,  140. 

2  Official  Journal  of  Schuyler,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  800. 
19 


290  THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA.  [1691. 

Scouts  had  brought  warning  of  his  approach; 
and  Callieres,  the  local  governor,  crossed  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  encamped  at  La  Prairie  with  seven 
or  eight  hundred  men.1  Here  he  remained  for  a 
week,  attacked  by  fever  and  helpless  in  bed.  The 
fort  stood  a  few  rods  from  the  river.  Two  battal- 
ions of  regulars  lay  on  a  field  at  the  right ;  and  the 
Canadians  and  Indians  were  bivouacked  on  the  left, 
between  the  fort  and  a  small  stream,  near  which 
was  a  windmill.  On  the  evening  of  the  tenth  of 
August,  a  drizzling  rain  began  to  fall ;  and  the  Can- 
adians thought  more  of  seeking  shelter  than  of 
keeping  watch.  They  were,  moreover,  well  sup- 
plied with  brandy,  and  used  it  freely.2  At  an  hour 
before  dawn,  the  sentry  at  the  mill  descried  objects 
like  the  shadows  of  men  silently  advancing  along 
the  borders  of  the  stream.  They  were  Schuyler's 
vanguard.  The  soldier  cried,  "  Qui  vive  ?  "  There 
was  no  answer.  He  fired  his  musket,  and  ran  into 
the  mill.  Schuyler's  men  rushed  in  a  body  upon 
the  Canadian  camp,  drove  its  occupants  into  the 
fort,  and  killed  some  of  the  Indian  allies,  who  lay 
under  their  canoes  on  the  adjacent  strand. 

The  regulars  on  the  other  side  of  the  fort,  roused 
by  the  noise,  sprang  to  arms  and  hastened  to  the 
spot.  They  were  met  by  a  volley,  which  laid  some 
fifty  of  them  on  the  ground,  and  drove  back  the 
rest  in  disorder.  They  rallied  and  attacked  again ; 
on  which,  Schuyler,  greatly  outnumbered,  withdrew 
his  men  to  a  neighboring  ravine,  where  he  once 

1  Relation  de  Btnac ;  Relation  de  1682-1712. 

2  "  La  debauche  f  ut  extreme  en  toute  maniere."    Belmont. 


1691.]  RETREAT   OF   SCHUYLER.  291 

more  repulsed  his  assailants,  and,  as  lie  declares, 
drove  them  into  the  fort  with  great  loss.  By  this 
time  it  was  daylight.  The  English,  having  struck 
their  blow,  slowly  fell  back,  hacking  down  the  corn 
in  the  fields,  as  it  was  still  too  green  for  burning, 
and  pausing  at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  where  their 
Indians  were  heard  for  some  time  uttering  fright- 
ful howls,  and  shouting  to  the  French  that  they 
were  not  men,  but  clogs.  Why  the  invaders  were 
left  to  retreat  unmolested,  before  a  force  more  than 
double  their  own,  does  not  appear.  The  helpless 
condition  of  Callieres  and  the  death  of  Saint-Cirque, 
his  second  in  command,  scarcely  suffice  to  explain 
it.  Schuyler  retreated  towards  his  canoes,  moving, 
at  his  leisure,  along  the  forest  path  that  led  to 
Chambly.  Tried  by  the  standard  of  partisan  war, 
his  raid  had  been  a  success.  He  had  inflicted  great 
harm  and  suffered  little ;  but  the  affair  was  not 
yet  ended. 

A  clay  or  two  before,  Valrenne,  an  officer  of 
birth  and  ability,  had  been  sent  to  Chambly,  with 
about  a  hundred  and  sixty  troops  and  Canadians,  a 
body  of  Huron  and  Iroquois  converts,  and  a  band 
of  Algonquins  from  the  Ottawa.  His  orders  were 
to  let  the  English  pass,  and  then  place  himself 
in  their  rear  to  cut  them  off  from  their  canoes. 
His  scouts  had  discovered  their  advance ;  and,  on 
the  morning  of  the  attack,  he  set  his  force  in 
motion,  and  advanced  six  or  seven  miles  towards 
La  Prairie,  on  the  path  by  which  Schuyler  was 
retreating.  The  country  was  buried  in  forests. 
At  about  nine  o'clock,  the  scouts  of  the  hostile 


292         THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.         [1691 

parties  met  eacli  other,  and  their  war-whoops  gave 
the  alarm.  Yalrenne  instantly  took  possession  of 
a  ridge  of  ground  that  crossed  the  way  of  the 
approaching  English.  Two  large  trees  had  fallen 
along  the  crest  of  the  acclivity ;  and  behind  these 
the  French  crouched,  in  a  triple  row,  well  hidden 
by  bushes  and  thick  standing  trunks.  The  Eng- 
lish, underrating  the  strength  of  their  enemy,  and 
ignorant  of  his  exact  position,  charged  impetuously, 
and  were  sent  reeling  back  by  a  close  and  deadly 
volley.  They  repeated  the  attack  with  still  greater 
fury,  and  dislodged  the  French  from  their  ambus- 
cade. Then  ensued  a  fight,  which  Frontenac 
declares  to  have  been  the  most  hot  and  stubborn 
ever  known  in  Canada.  The  object  of  Schuyler 
was  to  break  through  the  French  and  reach  his 
canoes :  the  object  of  Valrenne  was  to  drive  him 
back  upon  the  superior  force  at  La  Prairie.  The 
cautious  tactics  of  the  bush  were  forgotten.  Three 
times  the  combatants  became  mingled  together, 
firing  breast  to  breast,  and  scorching  each  other's 
shirts  by  the  flash  of  their  guns.  The  Algonquins 
did  themselves  no  credit ;  and  at  first  some  of  the 
Canadians  gave  way,  but  they  were  rallied  by  Le 
Ber  Duchesne,  their  commander,  and  afterwards 
showed  great  bravery.  On  the  side  of  the  English, 
many  of  the  Mohegan  allies  ran  off  ;  but  the  whites 
and  the  Mohawks  fought  with  equal  desperation. 
In  the  midst  of  the  tumult,  Yalrenne  was  perfectly 
cool,  directing  his  men  with  admirable  vigor  and 
address,  and  barring  Schuyler's  retreat  for  more 
than  an  hour.     At  length,  the  French  were  driven 


1691. 


SUCCESS   OF   SCHUYLER.  293 


from  the  path.  "  We  broke  through  the  middle 
of  their  body,"  says  Schuyler,  "  until  we  got  into 
their  rear,  trampling  upon  their  dead ;  then  faced 
about  upon  them,  and  fought  them  until  we  made 
them  give  way ;  then  drove  them,  by  strength  of 
arm,  four  hundred  paces  before  us ;  and,  to  say 
the  truth,  we  were  all  glad  to  see  them  retreat."  ] 
He  and  his  followers  continued  their  march  un- 
molested, carrying  their  wounded  men,  and  leaving 
about  forty  dead  behind  them,  along  with  one  of 
their  flags,  and  all  their  knapsacks,  which  they  had 
thrown  off  when  the  fray  began.  They  reached 
the  banks  of  the  Richelieu,  found  their  canoes  safe, 
and,  after  waiting  several  hours  for  stragglers,  em- 
barked for  Albany. 

Nothing  saved  them  from  destruction  but  the 
failure  of  the  French  at  La  Prairie  to  follow  their 
retreat,  and  thus  enclose  them  between  two  fires. 
They  did  so,  it  is  true,  at  the  eleventh  hour,  but  not 
till  the  fight  was  over  and  the  English  were  gone. 
The  Christian  Mohawks  of  the  Saut  also  appeared 
in  the  afternoon,  and  set  out  to  pursue  the  enemy, 
but  seem  to  have  taken  care  not  to  overtake  them  ; 
for  the  English  Mohawks  were  their  relatives,  and 
they  had  no  wish  for  their  scalps.  Frontenac  was 
angry  at  their  conduct ;  and,  as  he  rarely  lost  an 
opportunity  to  find  fault  with  the  Jesuits,  he  laid 
the  blame  on  the  fathers  in  charge  of  the  mission, 
whom  he  sharply  upbraided  for  the  shortcomings 
of  their  flock.2 

1  Major  Peter  Schuyler's  Journal  of  his  Expedition  to  Canada,  in  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  III.  800.  "  Les  ennemis  enfoncerent  notre  embuscade"  Bel- 
mont. 

2  As  this  fight  under  Valrenne  has  been  represented  as  a  French 


294  THE  SCOURGE   OF  CANADA.  [1691. 

He  was  at  Three  Eivers  at  a  ball  when  news  of 
the  disaster  at  La  Prairie  damped  the  spirits  of 
the  company,  which,  however,  were  soon  revived 
by  tidings  of  the  fight  under  Valrenne  and  the 
retreat  of  the  English,  who  were  reported  to  have 
left  two  hundred  dead  on  the  field.  Front enac 
wrote  an  account  of  the  affair  to  the  minister,  with 
high  praise  of  Valrenne  and  his  band,  followed  by 
an  appeal  for  help.  "  What  with  fighting  and 
hardship,  our  troops  and  militia  are  wasting  away." 
"  The  enemy  is  upon  us  by  sea  and  land."  "  Send 
us  a  thousand  men  next  spring,  if  you  want  the 
colony  to  be  saved."  "  We  are  perishing  by  inches ; 
the  people  are  in  the  depths  of  poverty ;  the  war 
has  doubled  jDrices  so  that  nobody  can  live."  "  Many 
families  are  without  bread.  The  inhabitants  desert 
the  country,  and  crowd  into  the  towns."  '  A  new 
enemy  appeared  in  the  following  summer,  almost 


victory  against  overwhelming  odds,  it  may  be  well  to  observe  the  evi- 
dence as  to  the  numbers  engaged.  The  French  party  consisted,  accord- 
ing to  Benac,  of  160  regulars  and  Canadians,  besides  Indians.  La 
Potherie  places  it  at  180  men,  and  Frontenac  at  200  men.  These  two 
estimates  do  not  include  Indians  ;  for  the  author  of  the  Relation  of  1682- 
1712,  who  was  an  officer  on  the  spot  at  the  time,  puts  the  number  at 
300  soldiers,  Canadians,  and  savages. 

Schuyler's  official  return  shows  that  his  party  consisted  of  120  whites, 
80  Mohawks,  and  66  River  Indians  (Mohegans)  :  266  in  all.  The  French 
writer  Benac  places  the  whole  at  280,  and  the  intendant  Champigny  at 
300.  The  other  French  estimates  of  the  English  force  are  greatly  exag- 
gerated. Schuyler's  strength  was  reduced  by  27  men  left  to  guard  the 
canoes,  and  by  a  number  killed  or  disabled  at  La  Prairie.  The  force 
under  Valrenne  was  additional  to  the  700  or  800  men  at  La  Prairie 
(Filiation,  1682-1712).  Schuyler  reported  his  loss  in  killed  at  21  whites, 
16  Mohawks,  and  6  Mohegans,  besides  many  wounded.  The  French 
statements  of  it  are  enormously  in  excess  of  this,  and  are  irreconcilable 
with  each  other. 

1  Lettres  de  Frontenac  et  de  Champigny,  1691,  1692. 


1691-92.]  A  RADICAL   CURE.  295 

as  destructive  as  the  Iroquois.  This  was  an 
army  of  caterpillars,  which  set  at  naught  the 
maledictions  of  the  clergy,  and  made  great  havoc 
among  the  crops.  It  is  recorded  that  along 
with  the  caterpillars  came  an  unprecedented 
multitude  of  squirrels,  which,  being  industriously 
trapped  or  shot,  proved  a  great  help  to  many 
families. 

Alarm  followed  alarm.  It  was  reported  that 
Phips  was  bent  on  revenge  for  his  late  discomfiture, 
that  great  armaments  were  afoot,  and  that  a  mighty 
host  of  "  Bostonnais  "  was  preparing  another  de- 
scent. A«;am  and  a^ain  Frontenac  beo-ored  that 
one  bold  blow  should  be  struck  to  end  these  perils 
and  make  King  Louis  master  of  the  continent,  by 
despatching  a  fleet  to  seize  New  York.  If  this 
were  done,  he  said,  it  would  be  easy  to  take  Boston 
and  the  "  rebels  and  old  republican  leaven  of  Crom- 
well "  who  harbored  there  ;  then  burn  the  place, 
and  utterly  destroy  it.1  Villebon,  governor  of 
Acadia,  was  of  the  same  mind.  "  No  town,"  he 
told  the  minister,  "  could  be  burned  more  easily. 
Most  of  the  houses  are  covered  with  shingles,  and 
the  streets  are  very  narrow."  2  But  the  king  could 
not  spare  a  squadron  equal  to  the  attempt ;  and 
Frontenac  was  told  that  he  must  wait.  The  troops 
sent  him  did  not  supply  his  losses.3  Money  came 
every  summer  in  sums  which  now  seem  small,  but 
were  far  from  being  so  in  the  eyes  of  the  king, 

1  Frontenac  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  496,  506. 

2  Villebon  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  507. 

3  The  returns  show  1,313  regulars  in  1691,  and  1,120  in  1692. 


296  THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA.  [1691-94. 

who  joined  to  each  remittance  a  lecture  on  econ- 
omy and  a  warning  against  extravagance.1 

The  intendant  received  his  share  of  blame  on 
these  occasions,  and  he  usually  defended  himself 
vigorously.  He  tells  his  master  that  "  war-parties 
are  necessary,  but  very  expensive.  We  rarely  pay 
money ;  but  we  must  give  presents  to  our  Indians, 
and  fit  out  the  Canadians  with  provisions,  arms, 
ammunition,  moccasons,  snow-shoes,  sledges,  canoes, 
capotes,  breeches,  stockings,  and  blankets.  This 
costs  a  great  deal,  but  without  it  we  should  have 
to  abandon  Canada."  The  king  complained  that, 
while  the  great  sums  he  was  spending  in  the  colony 
turned  to  the  profit  of  the  inhabitants,  they  con- 
tributed nothing  to  their  own  defence.  The  com- 
plaint was  scarcely  just ;  for,  if  they  gave  no  money, 
they  gave  their  blood  with  sufficient  readiness. 
Excepting  a  few  merchants,  they  had  nothing  else 
to  give ;  and,  in  the  years  when  the  fur  trade  was 
cut  off,  they  lived  chiefly  on  the  pay  they  received 
for  supplying  the  troops  and  other  public  services. 
Far  from  being  able  to  support  the  war,  they  looked 
to  the  war  to  support  them.2 

1  Lettres  du  Roy  et  da  Ministre,  1690-1694.  In  1691,  the  amount 
allowed  for  extraordinaires  de  guerre  was  99,000  livres  (francs).  In  1692, 
it  was  193.000  livres,  a  part  of  which  was  for  fortifications.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year,  no  less  than  750,000  livres  were  drawn  for  Canada,  "  ce  qui 
ne  se  pourroit  pas  supporter,  si  cela  continuoit  de  la  mesme  force,"  writes 
the  minister.  (Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  13  Mars,  1694.)  This  last  sum 
probably  included  the  pay  of  the  troops. 

2  "  Sa  Majeste  fait  depuis  plusieurs  annees  des  sacrifices  immenses  en 
Canada.  L'avantage  en  demeure  presque  tout  entier  au  profit  des  ha- 
bitans  et  des  marchands  qui  y  resident.  Ces  depenses  se  font  pour  leur 
seurete  et  pour  leur  conservation.  II  est  juste  que  ceux  qui  sont  en 
estat  secourent  le  public."     Me  moire  da  Roy,  1693.     "Les  habitans  de  la 


1691-94.]  ALARMS.  297 

The  work  of  fortifying  the  vital  points  of  the 
colony,  Quebec,  Three  Kivers,  and  Montreal,  re- 
ceived constant  stimulus  from  the  alarms  of  attack, 
and,  above  all,  from  a  groundless  report  that 
ten  thousand  "Bostonnais"  had  sailed  for  Quebec. 
The  sessions  of  the  council  were  suspended,  and 
the  councillors  seized  pick  and  spade.  The  old 
defences  of  the  place  were  reconstructed  on  a  new 
plan,  made  by  the  great  engineer  Vauban.  The 
settlers  were  mustered  together  from  a  distance  of 
twenty  leagues,  and  compelled  to  labor,  with  little 
or  no  pay,  till  a  line  of  solid  earthworks  enclosed 
Quebec  from  Cape  Diamond  to  the  St.  Charles. 
Three  Rivers  and  Montreal  were  also  strengthened. 
The  cost  exceeded  the  estimates,  and  drew  upon 
Frontenac  and  Champigny  fresh  admonitions  from 
Versailles.1 


colonie  ne  contribuent  en  rien  a  tout  ce  que  Sa  Majeste  fait  pour  leur 
conservation,  pendant  que  ses  sujets  du  Royaume  donnent  tout  ce  qu'ils 
ont  pour  son  service."     Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  13  Mars,  1694. 

1  Lettres  flu  Roy  et  du  Ministre,  1693,  1694.  Cape  Diamond  was  now 
for  the  first  time  included  within  the  line  of  circumvallation  at  Quebec. 
A  strong  stone  redoubt,  with  sixteen  cannon,  was  built  upon  its  summit. 

In  1854,  in  demolishing  a  part  of  the  old  wall  between  the  fort  of 
Quebec  and  the  adjacent  "  Governor's  Garden,"  a  plate  of  copper  was 
found  with  a  Latin  inscription,  of  which  the  following  is  a  transla- 
tion :  — 

"  In  the  year  of  Grace,  1693,  under  the  reign  of  the  Most  August, 
Most  Invincible,  and  Most  Christian  King,  Louis  the  Great,  Fourteenth 
of  that  name,  the  Most  Excellent  and  Most  Illustrious  Lord,  Louis  de 
Buade,  Count  of  Frontenac,  twice  Viceroy  of  all  New  France,  after 
having  three  years  before  repulsed,  routed,  and  completely  conquered 
the  rebellious  inhabitants  of  New  England,  who  besieged  this  town  of 
Quebec,  and  who  threatened  to  renew  their  attack  this  year,  constructed, 
at  the  charge  of  the  king,  this  citadel,  with  the  fortifications  therewith 
connected,  for  the  defence  of  the  country  and  the  safety  of  the  people, 
and  for  confounding  yet  again  a  people  perfidious  towards  God  and  to- 
wards its  lawful  king.     And  he  has  laid  this  first  stone." 


298         THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.       [1691-94. 

The  bounties  on  scalps  and  prisoners  were  an- 
other occasion  of  royal  complaint.  Twenty  crowns 
had  been  offered  for  each  male  white  prisoner,  ten 
crowns  for  each  female,  and  ten  crowns  for  each 
scalp,  whether  Indian  or  English.1  The  bounty  on 
prisoners  produced  an  excellent  result,  since  in- 
stead of  killing  them  the  Indian  allies  learned  to 
bring  them  to  Quebec.  If  children,  they  were 
placed  in  the  convents ;  and,  if  adults,  they  were 
distributed  to  labor  among  the  settlers.  Thus, 
though  the  royal  letters  show  that  the  measure 
was  one  of  policy,  it  acted  in  the  interest  of 
humanity.  It  was  not  so  with  the  bounty  on 
scalps.  The  Abenaki,  Huron,  and  Iroquois  con- 
verts brought  in  many  of  them ;  but  grave  doubts 
arose  whether  they  all  came  from  the  heads  of 
enemies.2  The  scalp  of  a  Frenchman  was  not  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  scalp  of  an  Englishman,  and 
could  be  had  with  less  trouble.  Partly  for  this 
reason,  and  partly  out  of  economy,  the  king  gave 
it  as  his  belief  that  a  bounty  of  one  crown  was 
enough ;  though  the  governor  and  the  intendant 
united  in  declaring  that  the  scalps  of  the  whole 
Iroquois  confederacy  would  be  a  good  bargain  for 
his  Majesty  at  ten  crowns  apiece.3 

The  river  Ottawa  was  the  main  artery  of  Canada, 
and  to  stop  it  was  to  stop  the  flow  of  her  life  blood. 
The  Iroquois  knew  this ;   and  their  constant  effort 

1  Champigny  an  Ministre,  21  Sept.,  1692. 

2  Relation  de  1682-1712. 

3  Me'moire  du  Roy  aux  Sienrs  Frontennc  et  Champigny,  1693  ;  Frontenac 
et  Champigny  au  Ministre,  4  Nov.,  1693.  The  bounty  on  prisoners  was 
reduced  in  the  same  proportion,  showing  that  economy  was  the  chief 
object  of  the  change. 


1692.]  A  WINTER  EXPEDITION.  299 

was  to  close  it  so  completely  that  the  annual  supply 
of  beaver  skins  would  be  prevented  from  passing, 
and  the  colony  be  compelled  to  live  on  credit.  It 
was  their  habit  to  spend  the  latter  part  of  the 
winter  in  hunting  among  the  forests  between  the 
Ottawa  and  the  upper  St.  Lawrence,  and  then, 
when  the  ice  broke  up,  to  move  in  large  bands  to 
the  banks  of  the  former  stream,  and  lie  in  ambush 
at  the  Chaudiere,  the  Long  Saut,  or  other  favor- 
able points,  to  waylay  the  passing  canoes.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  the  constant  effort  of  Frontenac 
to  drive  them  off  and  keep  the  river  open ;  an 
almost  impossible  task.  Many  conflicts,  great  and 
small,  took  place  with  various  results ;  but,  in  spite 
of  every  effort,  the  Iroquois  blockade  was  main- 
tained more  than  two  years.  The  story  of  one  of 
the  expeditions  made  by  the  French  in  this  quarter 
will  show  the  hardship  of  the  service,  and  the 
moral  and  physical  vigor  which  it  demanded. 

Early  in  February,  three  hundred  men  under 
Dorvilliers  were  sent  by  Frontenac  to  surprise  the 
Iroquois  in  their  hunting-grounds.  When  they 
were  a  few  days  out,  their  leader  scalded  his  foot 
by  the  upsetting  of  a  kettle  at  their  encampment 
near  Lake  St.  Francis;  and  the  command  fell  on 
a  youth  named  Beaucour,  an  officer  of  regulars, 
accomplished  as  an  engineer,  and  known  for  his 
polished  wit.  The  march  through  the  snow- clogged 
forest  was  so  terrible  that  the  men  lost  heart. 
Hands  and  feet  were  frozen ;  some  of  the  Indians 
refused  to  proceed,  and  many  of  the  Canadians 
lagged  behind.     Shots  were  heard,  showing  that 


300  THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA.  [1692. 

the  enemy  were  not  far  off: ;  but  cold,  hunger,  and 
fatigue  had  overcome  the  courage  of  the  pursuers, 
and  the  young  commander  saw  his  followers  on 
the  point  of  deserting  him.  He  called  them  to- 
gether, and  harangued  them  in  terms  so  animating 
that  they  caught  his  spirit,  and  again  pushed  on. 
For  four  hours  more  they  followed  the  tracks  of 
the  Iroquois  snow-shoes,  till  they  found  the  savages 
in  their  bivouac,  set  upon  them,  and  killed  or  cap- 
tured nearly  all.  There  was  a  French  slave  among 
them,  scarcely  distinguishable  from  his  owners.  It 
was  an  officer  named  La  Plante,  taken  at  La  Chine 
three  years  before.  "  He  would  have  been  killed 
like  his  masters,"  says  La  Hontan,  "  if  he  had  not 
cried  out  with  all  his  might,  '  Misericorde,  sauvez- 
moi,  je  sals  Fram;aisyi  Beaucour  brought  his 
prisoners  to  Quebec,  where  Frontenac  ordered  that 
two  of  them  should  be  burned.  One  stabbed  him- 
self in  prison ;  the  other  was  tortured  by  the  Chris- 
tian Hurons  on  Cape  Diamond,  defying  them  to 
the  last.  Nor  was  this  the  only  instance  of  such 
fearful  reprisal.  In  the  same  ^year,  a  number  of  Iro- 
quois captured  by  Vauclreuil  were  burned  at  Mon- 
treal at  the  demand  of  the  Canadians  and  the  mission 
Indians,  who  insisted  that  their  cruelties  should  be 
paid  back  in  kind.  It  is  said  that  the  purpose  was 
answered,  and  the  Iroquois  deterred  for  a  while 
from  torturing  their  captives.2 

The  brunt  of  the  war  fell  on  the  upper  half  of 


1  La.Potherie,  III.  156  ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  de  plus  conside- 
rable en  Canada,  1691,  1692 ;  La  Hontan,  I.  233. 

2  Relation,  1682-1712. 


1693.]  STATE   OF  THE   COLONY.  301 

the  colony.  The  country  about  Montreal,  and  for 
nearly  a  hundred  miles  below  it,  was  easily  accessi- 
ble to  the  Iroquois  by  the  routes  of  Lake  Champ- 
lain  and  the  upper  St.  Lawrence ;  while  below 
Three  Rivers  the  settlements  were  tolerably  safe 
from  their  incursions,  and  were  exposed  to  attack 
solely  from  the  English  of  New  England,  who 
could  molest  them  only  by  sailing  up  from  the 
Gulf  in  force.  Hence  the  settlers  remained  on 
their  farms,  and  followed  their  usual  occupations, 
except  when  Frontenac  drafted  them  for  war- 
parties.  Above  Three  Rivers,  their  condition  was 
wholly  different.  A  traveller  passing  through  this 
part  of  Canada  would  have  found  the  houses  empty. 
Here  and  there  he  would  have  seen  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  a  parish  laboring  in  a  field  together, 
watched  by  sentinels,  and  generally  guarded  by 
a  squad  of  regulars.  When  one  field  was  tilled, 
they  passed  to  the  next ;  and  this  communal  process 
was  repeated  when  the  harvest  was  ripe.  At  night, 
they  took  refuge  in  the  fort ;  that  is  to  say,  in  a 
cluster  of  log  cabins,  surrounded  by  a  palisade. 
Sometimes,  when  long  exemption  from  attack  had 
emboldened  them,  they  ventured  back  to  their 
farm-houses,  an  experiment  always  critical  and 
sometimes  fatal.  Thus  the  people  of  La  Chesnaye, 
forgetting  a  sharp  lesson  they  had  received  a  year 
or  two  before,  returned  to  their  homes  in  fancied 
security.  One  evening  a  bachelor  of  the  parish 
made  a  visit  to  a  neighboring  widow,  bringing 
with  him  his  gun  and  a  small  dog.  As  he  was 
taking  his  leave,  his  hostess,  whose  husband  had 


302  THE   SCOURGE   OE  CANADA.  [1692. 

been  killed  the  year  before,  tolcl  him  that  she 
was  afraid  to  be  left  alone,  and  begged  him  to 
remain  with  her,  an  invitation  which  he  accepted. 
Towards  morning,  the  barking  of  his  dog  roused 
him ;  when,  going  out,  he  saw  the  night  lighted  up 
by  the  blaze  of  burning  houses,  and  heard  the  usual 
firing  and  screeching  of  an  Iroquois  attack.  He 
went  back  to  his  frightened  companion,  who  also 
had  a  gun.  Placing  himself  at  a  corner  of  the 
house,  he  told  her  to  stand  behind  him.  A  number 
of  Iroquois  soon  appeared,  on  which  he  fired  at 
them,  and,  taking  her  gun,  repeated  the  shot, 
giving  her  his  own  to  load.  The  warriors  returned 
his  fire  from  a  safe  distance,  and  in  the  morning 
withdrew  altogether,  on  which  the  pair  emerged 
from  their  shelter,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
fort.  The  other  inhabitants  were  all  killed  or 
captured.1 

Many  incidents  of  this  troubled  time  are  pre- 
served, but  none  of  them  are  so  well  worth  the 
record  as  the  defence  of  the  fort  at  Vercheres  by 
the  young  daughter  of  the  seignior.  Many  years 
later,  the  Marquis  de  Beauharnais,  governor  of 
Canada,  caused  the  story  to  be  written  down  from 
the  recital  of  the  heroine  herself.  Vercheres  was 
on  the  south  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  about 
twenty  miles  below  Montreal.  A  strong  block- 
house stood  outside  the  fort,  and  was  connected 
with  it  by  a  covered  way.  On  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-second  of  October,  the  inhabitants  were  at 
work  in  the  fields,  and  nobody  was  left  in  the  place 
but  two  soldiers,  two  boys,  an  old  man  of  eighty, 

1  Relation,  1682-1712. 


1692.]  THE   HEROINE   OF   VERCHERES.  303 

and  a  number  of  women  and  children.  The  seig- 
nior, formerly  an  officer  of  the  regiment  of  Carig- 
nan,  was  on  duty  at  Quebec  ;  his  wife  was  at  Mont- 
real ;  and  their  daughter  Madeleine,  fourteen  years 
of  age,  was  at  the  landing-place  not  far  from  the 
gate  of  the  fort,  with  a  hired  man  named  Laviolette. 
Suddenly  she  heard  firing  from  the  direction  where 
the  settlers  were  at  work,  and  an  instant  after 
Laviolette  cried  out,  "  Run,  Mademoiselle,  run ! 
here  come  the  Iroquois ! "  She  turned  and  saw 
forty  or  fifty  of  them  at  the  distance  of  a  pistol- 
shot.  "  I  ran  for  the  fort,  commending  myself  to 
the  Holy  Virgin.  The  Iroquois  who  chased  after 
me,  seeing  that  they  could  not  catch  me  alive 
before  I  reached  the  gate,  stopped  and  fired  at  me. 
The  bullets  whistled  about  my  ears,  and  made  the 
time  seem  very  long.  As  soon  as  I  was  near 
enough  to  be  heard,  I  cried  out,  To  arms  !  to  arms  ! 
hoping  that  somebody  would  come  out  and  help 
me ;  but  it  was  of  no  use.  The  two  soldiers  in  the 
fort  were  so  scared  that  they  had  hidden  in  the 
blockhouse.  At  the  gate,  I  found  two  women 
crying  for  their  husbands,  who  had  just  been 
killed.  I  made  them  go  in,  and  then  shut  the 
gate.  I  next  thought  what  I  could  do  to  save 
myself  and  the  few  people  with  me.  I  went  to 
inspect  the  fort,  and  found  that  several  palisades 
had  fallen  clown,  and  left  openings  by  which  the 
enemy  could  easily  get  in.  I  ordered  them  to  be 
set  up  again,  and  helped  to  carry  them  myself. 
When  the  breaches  were  stopped,  I  went  to  the 
blockhouse  where    the    ammunition  is  kept,  and 


304  THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA.  [1692. 

here  I  found  the  two  soldiers,  one  hiding  in  a 
corner,  and  the  other  with  a  lighted  match  in  his 
hand.  '  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that 
match  ? '  I  asked.  He  answered,  '  Light  the 
powder,  and  blow  us  all  up.'  '  You  are  a  mis- 
erable coward,'  said  I,  '  go  out  of  this  place.'  I 
spoke  so  resolutely  that  he  obeyed.  I  then  threw 
off  my  bonnet;  and,  after  putting  on  a  hat  and 
taking  a  gun,  I  said  to  my  two  brothers :  '  Let  us 
fight  to  the  death.  We  are  fighting  for  our  country 
and  our  religion.  Remember  that  our  father  has 
taught  you  that  gentlemen  are  born  to  shed  their 
blood  for  the  service  of  God  and  the  king.'  " 

The  boys,  who  were  twelve  and  ten  years  old, 
aided  by  the  soldiers,  whom  her  words  had  in- 
spired with  some  little  courage,  began  to  fire  from 
the  loopholes  upon  the  Iroquois,  who,  ignorant  of 
the  weakness  of  the  garrison,  showed  their  usual 
reluctance  to  attack  a  fortified  place,  and  occupied 
themselves  with  chasing  and  butchering  the  peo- 
ple in  the  neighboring  fields.  Madeleine  ordered  a 
cannon  to  be  fired,  partly  to  deter  the  enemy  from 
an  assault,  and  partly  to  warn  some  of  the  soldiers, 
who  were  hunting  at  a  distance.  The  women  and 
children  in  the  fort  cried  and  screamed  without 
ceasing.  She  ordered  them  to  stop,  lest  their 
terror  should  encourage  the  Indians.  A  canoe  was 
presently  seen  approaching  the  landing-place.  It 
was  a  settler  named  Fontaine,  trying  to  reach  the 
fort  with  his  family.  The  Iroquois  were  still  near  ; 
and  Madeleine  feared  that  the  new  comers  would 
be  killed,  if  something  were  not  done  to  aid  them. 


1692.]  THE   HEROINE   OF   VERCHERES.  305 

She  appealed  to  the  soldiers,  but  their  courage  was 
not  equal  to  the  attempt ;  on  which,  as  she  declares, 
after  leaving  Laviolette  to  keep  watch  at  the  gate, 
she  herself  went  alone  to  the  landing-place.  "  I 
thought  that  the  savages  would  suppose  it  to  be 
a  ruse  to  draw  them  towards  the  fort,  in  order  to 
make  a  sortie  upon  them.  They  did  suppose  so, 
and  thus  I  was  able  to  save  the  Fontaine  family. 
When  they  were  all  landed,  I  made  them  inarch 
before  me  in  full  sight  of  the  enemy.  We  put  so 
bold  a  face  on  it,  that  they  thought  they  had  more 
to  fear  than  we.  Strengthened  by  this  reinforce- 
ment, I  ordered  that  the  enemy  should  be  fired  on 
whenever  they  showed  themselves.  After  sunset, 
a  violent  north-east  wind  began  to  blow,  accom- 
panied with  snow  and  hail,  which  told  us  that  we 
should  have  a  terrible  night.  The  Iroquois  were 
all  this  time  lurking  about  us ;  and  I  judged  by 
their  movements  that,  instead  of  being  deterred  by 
the  storm,  they  would  climb  into  the  fort  under 
cover  of  the  darkness.  I  assembled  all  my  troops, 
that  is  to  say,  six  persons,  and  spoke  to  them  thus : 
*  God  has  saved  us  to-day  from  the  hands  of  our 
enemies,  but  we  must  take  care  not  to  fall  into 
their  snares  to-night.  As  for  me,  I  want  you  to 
see  that  I  am  not  afraid.  I  will  take  charge  of 
the  fort  with  an  old  man  of  eighty  and  another  who 
never  fired  a  gun ;  and  you,  Pierre  Fontaine,  with 
La  Bonte  and  Gachet  (our  two  soldiers),  will  go  to 
the  blockhouse  with  the  women  and  children,  be- 
cause that  is  the  strongest  place  ;  and,  if  I  am  taken, 
don't  surrender,  even  if  I  am  cut  to  pieces  and 

20 


306  THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA.  [1692. 

burned  before  your  eyes.  The  enemy  cannot  hurt 
you  in  the  blockhouse,  if  you  make  the  least  show 
of  fight.'  I  placed  my  young  brothers  on  two  of 
the  bastions,  the  old  man  on  the  third,  and  I  took 
the  fourth ;  and  all  night,  in  spite  of  wind,  snow, 
and  hail,  the  cries  of  '  All's  well '  were  kept  up 
from  the  blockhouse  to  the  fort,  and  from  the  fort 
to  the  blockhouse.  One  would  have  thought  that 
the  place  was  full  of  soldiers.  The  Iroquois  thought 
so,  and  were  completely  deceived,  as  they  confessed 
afterwards  to  Monsieur  de  Callieres,  whom  they 
told  that  they  had  held  a  council  to  make  a  plan 
for  capturing  the  fort  in  the  night  but  had  done 
nothing  because  such  a  constant  watch  was  kept. 

"  About  one  in  the  morning,  the  sentinel  on  the 
bastion  by  the  gate  called  out,  '  Mademoiselle,  I 
hear  something.'  I  went  to  him  to  find  what  it 
was ;  and  by  the  help  of  the  snow,  which  covered 
the  ground,  I  could  see  through  the  darkness  a 
number  of  cattle,  the  miserable  remnant  that  the 
Iroquois  had  left  us.  The  others  wanted  to  open 
the  gate  and  let  them  in,  but  I  answered :  i  God 
forbid.  You  don't  know  all  the  tricks  of  the  sav- 
ages. They  are  no  doubt  following  the  cattle,  cov- 
ered with  skins  of  beasts,  so  as  to  get  into  the  fort, 
if  we  are  simple  enough  to  open  the  gate  for 
them.'  Nevertheless,  after  taking  every  precaution, 
I  thought  that  we  might  open  it  without  risk.  I 
made  my  two  brothers  stand  ready  with  their  guns 
cocked  in  case  of  surprise,  and  so  we  let  in  the 
cattle. 

"  At  last,  the  daylight  came  again ;  and,  as  the 


1692.]  THE   HEROINE   OF  VERCHERES.  307 

darkness  disappeared,  our  anxieties  seemed  to  dis- 
appear with  it.  Everybody  took  courage  except 
Mademoiselle  Marguerite,  wife  of  the  Sieur  Fon- 
taine, who  being  extremely  timid,  as  all  Parisian 
women  are,  asked  her  husband  to  carry  her  to  an^- 
other  fort.  .  .  He  said, e  I  will  never  abandon  this  fort 
while  Mademoiselle  Madelon  [Madeleine)  is  here.' 
I  answered  him  that  I  would  never  abandon  it ;  that 
I  would  rather  die  than  give  it  up  to  the  enemy ;  and 
that  it  was  of  the  greatest  importance  that  they 
should  never  get  possession  of  any  French  fort,  be- 
cause, if  they  got  one,  they  would  think  they  could 
get  others,  and  would  grow  more  bold  and  pre- 
sumptuous than  ever.  I  may  say  with  truth  that 
I  did  not  eat  or  sleep  for  twice  twenty-four  hours. 
I  did  not  go  once  into  my  father's  house,  but  kept 
always  on  the  bastion,  or  went  to  the  blockhouse  to 
see  how  the  people  there  were  behaving.  I  always 
kept  a  cheerful  and  smiling  face,  and  encouraged 
my  little  company  with  the  hope  of  speedy  succor. 
"  We  were  a  week  in  constant  alarm,  with  the 
enemy  always  about  us.  At  last  Monsieur  cle  la 
Monnerie,  a  lieutenant  sent  by  Monsieur  de  Cal- 
lieres,  arrived  in  the  night  with  forty  men.  As  he 
did  not  know  whether  the  fort  was  taken  or  not, 
he  approached  as  silently  as  possible.  One  of  our 
sentinels,  hearing  a  slight  sound,  cried, c  Qui  vive  ? " 
I  was  at  the  time  dozing,  with  my  head  on  a  table 
and  my  gun  lying  across  my  arms.  The  sentinel 
told  me  that  he  heard  a  voice  from  the  river.  I 
went  up  at  once  to  the  bastion  to  see  whether  it 
was  Indians  or  Frenchmen.     I  asked,  '  Who  are 


308  THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA.  [1692. 

you  ? '  One  of  them  answered,  l  We  are  French- 
men :  it  is  La  Monnerie,  who  comes  to  bring  you 
help.'  I  caused  the  gate  to  be  opened,  placed  a 
sentinel  there,  and  went  down  to  the  river  to  meet 
them.  As  soon  as  I  saw  Monsieur  de  la  Monnerie, 
I  saluted  him,  and  said, '  Monsieur,  I  surrender  my 
arms  to  you.'  He  answered  gallantly,  '  Mademoi- 
selle, they  are  in  good  hands.'  '  Better  than  you 
think,'  I  returned.  He  inspected  the  fort,  and 
found  every  thing  in  order,  and  a  sentinel  on  each 
bastion.  6  It  is  time  to  relieve  them,  Monsieur,' 
said  I:  'we  have  not  been  off  our  bastions  for  a 
week.' " x 

A  band  of  converts  from  the  Saut  St.  Louis  ar- 
rived soon  after,  followed  the  trail  of  their  heathen 
countrymen,  overtook  them  on  Lake  Champlain, 
and  recovered  twenty  or  more  French  prisoners. 
Madeleine  cle  Vercheres  was  not  the  only  heroine 
of  her  family.  Her  father's  fort  was  the  Castle 
Dangerous  of  Canada ;  and  it  was  but  two  years 
before  that  her  mother,  left  with  three  or  four 

1  Recti  de  Mile.  Magdelaine  de  Vercheres,  dge'e  de  14  ans  (Collection  de 
l'Abbe  Ferland).  It  appears  from  Tanguay,  Dictionnaire  Gene'alorjique, 
that  Marie-Madeleine  Jarret  de  Vercheres  was  born  in  April,  1678,  which 
corresponds  to  the  age  given  in  the  R€cit.  She  married  Thomas  Tarieu 
de  la  Naudiere  in  1706,  and  M.  de  la  Perrade,  or  Prade,  in  1722.  Her 
brother  Louis  was  born  in  1680,  and  was  therefore,  as  stated  in  the 
Re'cit,  twelve  years  old  in  1692.  The  birthday  of  the  other,  Alexander, 
is  not  given.  His  baptism  was  registered  in  1682.  One  of  the  brothers 
was  killed  at  the  attack  of  Haverhill,  in  1708. 

Madame  de  Ponchartrain,  wife  of  the  minister,  procured  a  pension 
for  life  to  Madeleine  de  Vercheres.  Two  versions  of  her  narrative  are 
before  me.  There  are  slight  variations  between  them,  but  in  all  essen- 
tial points  they  are  the  same.  The  following  note  is  appended  to  one  of 
them  :  "  Ce  re'cit  fut  fait  par  ordre  de  MT.  de  Beauharnois,  gouverneur 
du  Canada." 


1692,  1693.]  SAUT   ST.  LOUIS.  309 

armed  men,  and  beset  by  the  Iroquois,  threw  her- 
self with  her  followers  into  the  blockhouse,  and 
held  the  assailants  two  days  at  bay,  till  the  Mar- 
quis de  Crisasi  came  with  troops  to  her  relief.1 

From  the  moment  when  the  Canadians  found  a 
chief  whom  they  could  trust,  and  the  firm  old 
hand  of  Frontenac  grasped  the  reins  of  their  destiny, 
a  spirit  of  hardihood  and  energy  grew  up  in  all 
this  rugged  population ;  and  they  faced  their  stern 
fortunes  with  a  stubborn  daring  and  endurance  that 
merit  respect  and  admiration. 

Now,  as  in  all  their  former  wars,  a  great  part  of 
their  suffering  was  due  to  the  Mohawks.  The 
Jesuits  had  spared  no  pains  to  convert  them,  thus 
changing  them  from  enemies  to  friends ;  and  their 
efforts  had  so  far  succeeded  that  the  mission  colony 
of  Saut  St.  Louis  contained  a  numerous  population 
of  Mohawk  Christians.2  The  place  was  well  forti- 
fied ;  and  troops  were  usually  stationed  here,  partly 
to  defend  the  converts  and  partly  to  ensure  their 
fidelity.  They  had  sometimes  done  excellent  ser- 
vice for  the  French  ;  but  many  of  them  still  remem- 
bered their  old  homes  on  the  Mohawk,  and  their 
old  ties  of  fellowship  and  kindred.  Their  heathen 
countrymen  were  jealous  of  their  secession,  and 
spared  no  pains  to  reclaim  them.  Sometimes  they 
tried  intrigue,  and  sometimes  force.  On  one  occa- 
sion, joined  by  the  Oneidas  and  Onondagas,  they 
appeared  before  the  palisades  of  St.  Louis,  to  the 


i  La  Potherie,  I.  326. 

2  This  mission  was  also  called  Caghnawaga.     The  village  still  ex- 
ists, at  the  head  of  the  rapid  of  St.  Louis,  or  La  Chine. 


310  THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA.  [1693. 

number  of  more  than  four  hundred  warriors ;  but, 
finding  the  bastions  manned  and  the  gates  shut, 
they  withdrew  discomfited.  It  was  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  French  to  sunder  them  from  their 
heathen  relatives  so  completely  that  reconciliation 
would  be  impossible,  and  it  was  largely  to  this 
end  that  a  grand  expedition  was  prepared  against 
the  Mohawk  towns. 

All  the  mission  Indians  in  the  colony  were  in- 
vited to  join  it,  the  Iroquois  of  the  Saut  and 
Mountain,  Abenakis  from  the  Chaucliere,  Hurons 
from  Lorette,  and  Algonquins  from  Three  Rivers. 
A  hundred  picked  soldiers  were  added,  and  a  large 
band  of  Canadians.  All  told,  they  mustered  six 
hundred  and  twenty-five  men,  under  three  tried 
leaders,  Mantet,  Court  emanche,  and  La  Noue. 
They  left  Chambly  at  the  end  of  January,  and 
pushed  southward  on  snow-shoes.  Their  way  was 
over  the  ice  of  Lake  Champlain,  for  more  than  a 
century  the  great  thoroughfare  of  war-parties. 
They  bivouacked  in  the  forest  hy  squads  of  twelve 
or  more  ;  dug  away  the  snow  in  a  circle,  covered 
the  bared  earth  with  a  bed  of  spruce  boughs,  made 
a  fire  in  the  middle,  and  smoked  their  pipes  around 
it.  Here  crouched  the  Christian  savage,  muffled 
in  his  blanket,  his  unwashed  face  still  smirched 
with  soot  and  vermilion,  relics  of  the  war-paint  he 
had  worn  a  wreek  before  when  he  danced  the  war- 
dance  in  the  square  of  the  mission  village ;  and 
here  sat  the  Canadians,  hooded  like  Capuchin 
monks,  but  irrepressible  iji  loquacity,  as  the  blaze 
of  the  camp-fire  glowed  on  their  hardy  visages  and 


1693.]  MOHAWK   TOWNS   CAPTURED.  oil 

fell  in  fainter  radiance  on  the  rocks  and  pines 
behind  them. 

Sixteen  clays  brought  them  to  the  two  lower 
Mohawk  towns.  A  young  Dutchman  who  had 
been  captured  three  years  before  at  Schenectady, 
and  whom  the  Indians  of  the  Saut  had  imprudently 
brought  with  them,  ran  off  in  the  night,  and  car- 
ried the  alarm  to  the  English.  The  invaders  had 
no  time  to  lose.  The  two  towns  were  a  quarter 
of  a  league  apart.  They  surrounded  them  both 
on  the  night  of  the  sixteenth  of  February,  waited 
in  silence  till  the  voices  within  were  hushed,  and 
then  captured  them  without  resistance,  as  most  of 
the  inmates  were  absent.  After  burning  one  of 
them,  and  leaving  the  prisoners  well  guarded  in 
the  other,  they  marched  eight  leagues  to  the  third 

town,  reached  it  at  evening   and  hid  in  the  neigh- 
s' o 

boring  woods.  Through  all  the  early  night,  they 
heard  the  whoops  and  songs  of  the  warriors  within, 
who  were  dancing  the  war-dance  for  an  intended 
expedition.  About  midnight,  all  was  still.  The 
Mohawks  had  posted  no  sentinels ;  and  one  of 
the  French  Indians,  scaling  the  palisade,  opened 
the  gate  to  his  comrades.  There  was  a  short  but 
bloody  fight.  Twenty  or  thirty  Mohawks  were 
killed,  and  nearly  three  hundred  captured,  chiefly 
women  and  children.  The  French  commanders 
now  required  their  allies,  the  mission  Indians,  to 
make  good  a  promise  which,  at  the  instance  of 
Frontenac,  had  been  exacted  from  them  by  the 
governor  of  Montreal.  It  was  that  they  should 
kill    all  their  male  captives,  a  proceeding  which 


312  THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA.  [1693. 

would  have  averted  every  danger  of  future  re- 
conciliation between  the  Christian  and  heathen 
Mohawks.  The  converts  of  the  Saut  and  the 
Mountain  had  readily  given  the  pledge,  but  appar- 
ently with  no  intention  to  keep  it ;  at  least,  they 
now  refused  to  do  so.  Remonstrance  was  useless ; 
and,  after  burning  the  town,  the  French  and  their 
allies  began  their  retreat,  encumbered  by  a  long  train 
of  prisoners.  They  marched  two  clays,  when  they 
were  hailed  from  a  distance  by  Mohawk  scouts,  who 
told  them  that  the  English  were  on  their  track, 
but  that  peace  had  been  declared  in  Europe,  and 
that  the  pursuers  did  not  mean  to  fight,  but  to 
parley.  Hereupon  the  mission  Indians  insisted  on 
waiting  for  them,  and  no  exertion  of  the  French 
commanders  could  persuade  them  to  move.  Trees 
were  hewn  down,  and  a  fort  made  after  the  Iro- 
quois fashion,  by  encircling  the  camp  with  a  high 
and  dense  abatis  of  trunks  and  branches.  Here 
they  lay  two  days  more,  the  French  disgusted  and 
uneasy,  and  their  savage  allies  obstinate  and  im- 
practicable. 

Meanwhile,  Major  Peter  Schuyler  was  following 
their  trail,  with  a  body  of  armed  settlers  hastily 
mustered.  A  troop  of  Oneidas  joined  him ;  and 
the  united  parties,  between  five  and  six  hundred 
in  all,  at  length  appeared  before  the  fortified  camp 
of  the  French.  It  was  at  once  evident  that  there 
was  to  be  no  parley.  The  forest  rang  with  war- 
whoops  ;  and  the  English  Indians,  unmanageable  as 
those  of  the  French,  set  at  work  to  entrench  them- 
selves with  felled  trees.     The   French  and   their 


1693.]  A  DRAWN  BATTLE.  313 

allies  sallied  to  dislodge  them.  The  attack  was 
fierce,  and  the  resistance  equally  so.  Both  sides 
lost  ground  by  turns.  A  priest  of  the  mission  of 
the  Mountain,  named  Gay,  was  in  the  thick  of  the 
fight;  and,  when  he  saw  his  neophytes  run,  he 
threw  himself  before  them,  crying,  "  What  are 
you  afraid  of  ?  We  are  fighting  with  infidels,  who 
have  nothing  human  but  the  shape.  Have  you 
forgotten  that  the  Holy  Virgin  is  our  leader  and 
our  protector,  and  that  you  are  subjects  of  the 
King  of  France,  whose  name  makes  all  Europe 
tremble  ?  "  *  Three  times  the  French  renewed 
the  attack  in  vain ;  then  gave  over  the  attempt, 
and  lay  quiet  behind  their  barricade  of  trees.  So 
also  did  their  opponents.  The  morning  was  dark 
and  stormy,  and  the  driving  snow  that  filled  the 
air  made  the  position  doubly  dreary.  The  English 
were  starving.  Their  slender  stock  of  provisions 
had  been  consumed  or  shared  with  the  Indians, 
who,  on  their  part,  did  not  want  food,  having  re- 
sources unknown  to  their  white  friends.  A  group 
of  them  squatted  about  a  fire  invited  Schuyler  to 
share  their  broth;  but  his  appetite  was  spoiled 
when  he  saw  a  human  hand  ladled  out  of  the 
kettle.  His  hosts  were  breakfasting  on  a  dead 
Frenchman. 

All  night  the  hostile  bands,  ensconced  behind 
their  sylvan  ramparts,  watched  each  other  in  silence. 
In  the  morning,  an  Indian  deserter  told  the  Eng- 
lish commander  that  the  French  were  packing  their 
baggage.    Schuyler  sent  to  reconnoitre,  and  found 

1  Journal  cle  Jacques  Le  Ber,  extract  in  Faillon,  Vie  de  Mile.  Le  Ber, 
Appendix. 


314  THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA.  [1693. 

them  gone.  They  had  retreated  unseen  through 
the  snow-storm.  He  ordered  his  men  to  follow  ; 
but,  as  most  of  them  had  fasted  for  two  days,  they 
refused  to  do  so  till  an  expected  convoy  of  provi- 
sions should  arrive.  They  waited  till  the  next 
morning,  when  the  convoy  appeared :  fixe  biscuits 
were  served  out  to  each  man,  and  the  pursuit  be- 
gan. By  great  efforts,  they  nearly  overtook  the 
fugitives,  who  now  sent  them  word  that,  if  they 
made  an  attack,  all  the  prisoners  should  be  put  to 
death.  On  this,  Schuyler's  Indians  refused  to  con- 
tinue the  chase.  The  French,  by  this  time,  had 
reached  the  Hudson,  where  to  their  dismay  they 
found  the  ice  breaking  up  and  drifting  down  the 
stream.  Happily  for  them,  a  large  sheet  of  it  had 
become  wedged  at  a  turn  of  the  river,  and  formed 
a  temporary  bridge,  by  which  they  crossed,  and 
then  pushed  on  to  Lake  George.  Here  the  soft 
and  melting  ice  would  not  bear  them ;  and  they 
were  forced  to  make  their  way  along  the  shore, 
over  rocks  and  mountains,  through  sodden  snow 
and  matted  thickets.  The  provisions,  of  which  they 
had  made  a  depot  on  Lake  Cham  plain,  were  all 
spoiled.  The}?  boiled  moccasons  for  food,  and 
scraped  away  the  snow  to  find  hickory  and  beech 
nuts.  Several  died  of  famine,  and  many  more, 
unable  to  move,  lay  helpless  by  the  lake ;  while  a 
few  of  the  strongest  toiled  on  to  Montreal  to  tell 
Callieres  of  their  plight.  Men  and  food  were  sent 
them ;  and  from  time  to  time,  as  they  were  able, 
they  journeyed  on  again,  straggling  towards  their 
homes,  singly  or  in  small  parties,  feeble,  emaciated, 


1693.]  BOLDNESS  OF  COURTEMANCHE.  315 

and   in  many   instances   with    health   irreparably 
broken.1 

"  The  expedition/'  says  Frontenac,  "  was  a  glo- 
rious success."  However  glorious,  it  was  dearly 
bought ;  and  a  few  more  such  victories  would  be 
ruin.  The  governor  presently  achieved  a  success 
more  solid  and  less  costly.  The  wavering  mood  of 
the  north-western  tribes,  always  oscillating  between 
the  French  and  the  English,  had  caused  him  inces- 
sant anxiety ;  and  he  had  lost  no  time  in  using  the 
defeat  of  Phips  to  confirm  them  in  alliance  with 
Canada.  Courtemanche  was  sent  up  the  Ottawa 
to  carry  news  of  the  French  triumph,  and  stimulate 
the  savages  of  Michillimackinac  to  lift  the  hatchet. 
It  was  a  desperate  venture  ;  for  the  river  was  be- 
set, as  usual,  by  the  Iroquois.  With  ten  followers, 
the  daring  partisan  ran  the  gauntlet  of  a  thousand 
dangers,  and  safely  reached  his  destination  ;  where 
his  gifts  and  his  harangues,  joined  with  the  tidings 
of  victory,  kindled  great  excitement  among  the 
Ottawas  and  Hurons.  The  indispensable  but  most 
difficult  task  remained  :  that  of  opening  the  Ottawa 
for  the  descent  of  the  great  accumulation  of  beaver 
skins,  which  had  been  gathering  at  Michillimack- 
inac for  three  years,  and  for  the  want  of  which 
Canada  was  bankrupt.     More   than   two  hundred 

1  On  this  expedition,  Narrative  of  Military  Operations  in  Canada,  in 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  550 ;  Relation  cle  ce  qui  s'est  passe"  cle  plus  remarquable 
en  Canada,  1692,  1693;  Callieres  au  Ministre,  7  Sept.,  1693;  La  Potherie, 
III.  169;  Relation  de  1682-1712;  Eaillon,  Vie  de  Mile.  Le  Ber,  313;  Bel- 
mont, Hist,  du  Canada ;  Beyard  and  Lodowick,  Journal  of  the  Late  Actions 
of  the  French  at  Canada;  Report  of  Major  Peter  Schuyler,  in  N.  Y.  Col. 
Docs.,  IV.  16 ;  Colden,  112. 

The  minister  wrote  to  Callieres,  finding  great  fault  with  the  conduct 
of  the  mission  Indians.     Ponchartrain  a  Callieres,  8  Mai,  1694. 


316  THE   SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1693. 

Frenchmen  were  known  to  be  at  that  remote  post, 
or  roaming  in  the  wilderness  around  it ;  and  Fron- 
tenac  resolved  on  an  attempt  to  muster  them  to- 
gether, and  employ  their  united  force  to  protect 
the  Indians  and  the  traders  in  bringing  down  this 
mass  of  furs  to  Montreal.  A  messenger,  strongly 
escorted,  was  sent  with  orders  to  this  effect,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  Michillimackinac,  though 
there  was  a  battle  on  the  way,  in  which  the  officer 
commanding  the  escort  was  killed.  Frontenac 
anxiously  waited  the  issue,  when  after  a  long  delay 
the  tidings  reached  him  of  complete  success.  He 
hastened  to  Montreal,  and  found  it  swarming  with 
Indians  and  coureurs  de  bois.  Two  hundred  ca- 
noes had  arrived,  filled  with  the  coveted  beaver 
skins.  "  It  is  impossible,"  says  the  chronicle,  "  to 
conceive  the  joy  of  the  people,  when  they  beheld 
these  riches.  Canada  ha,d  awaited  them  for  years. 
The  merchants  and  the  farmers  were  dying  of 
hunger.  Credit  was  gone,  and  everybody  was 
afraid  that  the  enemy  would  waylay  and  seize  this 
last  resource  of  the  country.  Therefore  it  was, 
that  none  could  find  words  strong  enough  to  praise 
and  bless  him  by  whose  care  all  this  wealth  had 
arrived.  Father  of  the  People,  Preserver  of  the 
Country,  seemed  terms  too  weak  to  express  their 
gratitude."  ! 

While  three  years  of  arrested  sustenance  came 
down  together  from  the  lakes,  a  fleet  sailed  up  the 
St.  Lawrence,  freighted  with  soldiers  and  supplies. 
The  horizon  of  Canada  was  brightening. 

1  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  de  jjIus  remarquable  en  Canada,  1692, 1693. 
Compare  La  Potherie,  III.  185. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

1691-1695. 
AN  INTEELUDE. 

Appeal  of  Frontenac. —  His  Opponents.  —  His  Services. — Rival- 
ry and  Strife.  —  Bishop  Saint- Vallier.  —  Society  at  the 
Chateau.  —  Private  Theatricals.  —  Alarm  of  the  Clergy. — 
Tartuffe.  —  A  Singular  Bargain.  —  Mareuil  and  the  Bishop. 
—  Mareuil  on  Trial.  — Zeal  of  Saint- Vallier.  —  Scandals  at 
Montreal.  —  Appeal  to  the  King.  —  The  Strife  composed. — 
Libel  against  Frontenac. 

While  the  Canadians  hailed  Frontenac  as  a 
father,  he  fonnd  also  some  recognition  of  his  ser- 
vices from  his  masters  at  the  court.  The  king 
wrote  him  a  letter  with  his  own  hand,  to  express 
satisfaction  at  the  defence  of  Quebec,  and  sent  him 
a  gift  of  two  thousand  crowns.  He  greatly  needed 
the  money,  but  prized  the  letter  still  more,  and 
wrote  to  his  relative,  the  minister  Ponchartrain : 
"  The  gift  you  procured  for  me,  this  year,  has 
helped  me  very  much  towards  paying  the  great 
expenses  which  the  crisis  of  our  affairs  and  the 
excessive  cost  of  living  here  have  caused  me ;  but, 
though  I  receive  this  mark  of  his  Majesty's  good- 
ness with  the  utmost  respect  and  gratitude,  I  con- 
fess that  I  feel  far  more  deeply  the  satisfaction 
that  he  has  been  pleased  to  express  with  my  ser- 
vices.    The  raising  of  the  siege  of  Quebec  did  not 


318  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1691-93. 

deserve  all  the  attention  that  I  hear  ne  has  given 
it  in  the  midst  of  so  many  important  events,  and 
therefore  I  must  needs  ascribe  it  to  your  kindness 
in  commending  it  to  his  notice.  This  leads  me  to 
hope  that  whenever  some  office,  or  permanent 
employment,  or  some  mark  of  dignity  or  distinc- 
tion, may  offer  itself,  you  will  put  me  on  the  list 
as  well  as  others  who  have  the  honor  to  be  as 
closely  connected  with  you  as  I  am ;  for  it  would 
be  very  hard  to  find  myself  forgotten  because  I 
am  in  a  remote  country,  where  it  is  more  difficult 
and  dangerous  to  serve  the  king  than  elsewhere. 
I  have  consumed  all  my  property.  Nothing  is  left 
but  what  the  king  gives  me ;  and  I  have  reached 
an  age  where,  though  neither  strength  nor  good- 
will fail  me  as  yet,  and  though  the  latter  will  last 
as  long  as  I  live,  I  see  myself  on  the  eve  of  losing 
the  former :  so  that  a  post  a  little  more  secure  and 
tranquil  than  the  government  of  Canada  will  soon 
suit  my  time  of  life ;  and,  if  I  can  be  assured  of 
your  support,  I  shall  not  despair  of  getting  such  a 
one.  Please  then  to  permit  my  wife  and  my  friends 
to  refresh  your  memory  now  and  then  on  this 
point."  l  Again,  in  the  following  year :  "  I  have 
been  encouraged  to  believe  that  the  gift  of  two 
thousand  crowns,  which  his  Majesty  made  me  last 
year,  would  be  continued ;  but  apparently  you 
have  not  been  able  to  obtain  it,  for  I  think  that  you 
know  the  difficulty  I  have  in  living  here  on  my 
salary.  I  hope  that,  when  you  find  a  better  oppor- 
tunity, you  will  try  to  procure  me  this  favor.     My 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  20  Oct.,  1691. 


1691-03.]       OPPONENTS  OF  FRONTENAC.         319 

only  trust  is  in  your  support ;  and  I  am  persuaded 
that,  having  the  honor  to  be  so  closely  connected 
with  you,  you  would  reproach  yourself,  if  you  saw 
me  sink  into  decrepitude,  without  resources  and 
without  honors."  *  And  still  again  he  appeals  to 
the  minister  for  "  some  permanent  and  honorable 
place  attended  with  the  marks  of  distinction,  which 
are  more  grateful  than  all  the  rest  to  a  heart  shaped 
after  the  right  pattern." 2  In  return  for  these 
sturdy  applications,  he  got  nothing  for  the  present 
but  a  continuance  of  the  king's  gift  of  two  thou- 
sand crowns. 

Not  every  voice  in  the  colony  sounded  the  gov- 
ernor's praise.  Now,  as  always,  he  had  enemies  in 
state  and  Church.  It  is  true  that  the  quarrels  and 
the  bursts  of  passion  that  marked  his  first  term  of 
government  now  rarely  occurred,  but  this  was  not 
so  much  due  to  a  change  in  Frontenac  himself  as 
to  a  change  in  the  conditions  around  him.  The 
war  made  him  indispensable.  He  had  gained  what 
he  wanted,  the  consciousness  of  mastery ;  and  under 
its  soothing  influence  he  was  less  irritable  and 
exacting.  He  lived  with  the  bishop  on  terms  of 
mutual  courtesy,  while  his  relations  with  his  col- 
league, the  intendant,  were  commonly  smooth 
enough  on  the  surface ;  for  Champigny,  warned  by 
the  court  not  to  offend  him,  treated  him  with 
studied  deference,  and  was  usually  treated  in  re- 
turn with  urfcane  condescension.  During  all  this 
time,  the  intendant  was  complaining  of  him  to  the 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Sept.,  1692. 

2  Ibid.,  25  Oct.,  1693. 


320  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1691-93. 

minister.  "  He  is  spending  a  great  deal  of  money ; 
but  he  is  master,  and  does  what  he  pleases.  I  can 
only  keep  the  peace  by  yielding  every  thing." * 
"  He  wants  to  reduce  me  to  a  nobody."  And, 
among  other  similar  charges,  he  says  that  the  gov- 
ernor receives  pay  for  garrisons  that  do  not  exist, 
and  keeps  it  for  himself.  "  Do  not  tell  that  I  said 
so,"  adds  the  prudent  Champigny,  "  for  it  Avould 
make  great  trouble,  if  he  knew  it."2  Frontenac, 
perfectly  aware  of  these  covert  attacks,  desires  the 
minister  not  to  heed  "  the  falsehoods  and  impos- 
tures uttered  against  me  by  persons  who  meddle 
with  what  does  not  concern  them."3  He  alludes 
to  Champigny's  allies,  the  Jesuits,  who,  as  he 
thought,  had  also  maligned  him.  "Since  I  have 
been  here,  I  have  spared  no  pains  to  gain  the  good- 
will of  Monsieur  the  intenclant,  and  may  God  grant 
that  the  counsels  which  he  is  too  ready  to  receive 
from  certain  persons  who  have  never  been  friends 
of  peace  and  harmony  do  not  some  time  make  divi- 
sion between  us.  But  I  close  my  eyes  to  all  that, 
and  shall  still  persevere."  4  In  another  letter  to  Pon- 
chartrain,  he  says  :  "  I  write  you  this  in  private,  be- 
cause I  have  been  informed  by  my  wife  that  charges 
have  been  made  to  you  against  my  conduct  since 
my  return  to  this  country.  I  promise  you,  Mon- 
seigneur,  that,  whatever  my  accusers  do,  they  will 
not  make  me  change  conduct  towards  them,  and 
that  I  shall  still  treat  them  with  consideration.     I 

1  Champigny  au  Ministre,  12  Oct.,  1691. 

2  Ibid. ,4  Nov.,  1693. 

3  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Sept.,  1692. 

4  Ibid.,  20  Oct.,  1691. 


1691-93.]  SERVICES   OF  ERONTENAC,  •    321 

merely  ask  your  leave  most  humbly  to  represent 
that,  having  maintained  this  colony  in  full  pros- 
perity during  the  ten  years  when  I  formerly  held 
the  government  of  it,  I  nevertheless  fell  a  sacrifice 
to  the  artifice  and  fury  of  those  whose  encroach- 
ments, and  whose  excessive  and  unauthorized 
power,  my  duty  and  my  passionate  affection  for 
the  service  of  the  king  obliged  me  in  conscience 
to  repress.  My  recall,  which  made  them  masters  in 
the  conduct  of  the  government,  was  followed  by 
all  the  disasters  which  overwhelmed  this  unhappy 
colony.  The  millions  that  the  king  spent  here,  the 
troops  that  he  sent  out,  and  the  Canadians  that  he 
took  into  pay,  all  went  for  nothing.  Most  of  the 
soldiers,  and  no  small  number  of  brave  Canadians, 
perished  in  enterprises  ill  devised  and  ruinous  to 
the  country,  which  I  found  on  my  arrival  ravaged 
with  unheard-of  cruelty  by  the  Iroquois,  without 
resistance,  and  in  sight  of  the  troops  and  of  the 
forts.  The  inhabitants  were  discouraged,  and  un- 
nerved by  want  of  confidence  in  their  chiefs ; 
while  the  friendly  Indians,  seeing  our  weakness, 
were  ready  to  join  our  enemies.  I  was  fortunate 
enough  and  diligent  enough  to  change  this  de- 
plorable state  of  things,  and  drive  away  the  Eng- 
lish, whom  my  predecessors  did  not  have  on  their 
hands,  and  this  too  with  only  half  as  many  troops 
as  they  had.  I  am  far  from  wishing  to  blame  their 
conduct.  I  leave  you  to  judge  it.  But  I  cannot 
have  the  tranquillity  and  freedom  of  mind  which  I 
need  for  the  work  I  have  to  do  here,  without  feel- 
ing entire  confidence  that  the  cabal  which  is  again 

21 


322  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1693,1694. 

forming  against  me  cannot  produce  impressions 
which  may  prevent  you  from  doing  me  justice. 
For  the  rest,  if  it  is  thought  fit  that  I  should  leave 
the  priests  to  do  as  they  like,  I  shall  be  delivered 
from  an  infinity  of  troubles  and  cares,  in  which  I 
can  have  no  other  interest  than  the  good  of  the 
colony,  the  trade  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  peace  of 
the  king's  subjects,  and  of  which  I  alone  bear  the 
burden,  as  well  as  the  jealousy  of  sundry  persons, 
and  the  iniquity  of  the  ecclesiastics,  who  begin  to 
call  impious  those  who  are  obliged  to  oppose  their 
passions  and  their  interests."  1 

As  Champigny  always  sided  with  the  Jesuits,  his 
relations  with  Frontenac  grew  daily  more  critical. 
Open  rupture  at  length  seemed  imminent,  and  the 
king  interposed  to  keep  the  peace.  "  There  has 
been  discord  between  you  under  a  show  of  har- 
mony," he  wrote  to  the  disputants.2  Frontenac 
was  exhorted  to  forbearance  and  calmness ;  while 
the  intendant  was  told  that  he  allowed  himself  to 
be  made  an  instrument  of  others,  and  that  his 
charges  against  the  governor  proved  nothing  but 
his  own  ill-temper.3  The  minister  wrote  in  vain. 
The  bickerings  that  he  reproved  were  but  premoni- 
tions of  a  greater  strife. 

Bishop  Saint-Vallier  was  a  rigid,  austere,  and 
contentious  prelate,  who  loved  power  as  much  as 

1  "  L'iniquite  des  ecclesiastiques  qui  commencent  a  traiter  d'impies 
ceux  qui  sont  obliges  de  resister  a  leurs  passions  et  a  leurs  interets." 
Frontenac  an  Ministre,  20  Oct.,  1691. 

2  Memoire  du  Rot/  pour  Frontenac  et  Champigny,  1694. 

3  Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  8  May,  1694  ;  Le  Ministre  a  Champigny, 
mime  date. 


1693,  1694.]  SOCIETY  AT   THE   CHATEAU.  323 

Frontenac  himself,  and  thought  that,  as  the  deputy 
of  Christ,  it  was  his  duty  to  exercise  it  to  the  ut- 
most. The  governor  watched  him  with  a  jealous 
eye,  well  aware  that,  though  the  pretensions  of  the 
Church  to  supremacy  over  the  civil  power  had  suf- 
fered a  check,  Saint- Vallier  would  revive  them  the 
moment  he  thought  he  could  do  so  with  success. 
I  have  shown  elsewhere  the  severity  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical rule  at  Quebec,  where  the  zealous  pastors 
watched  their  flock  with  unrelenting!:  vigilance,  and 
associations  of  pious  women  helped  them  in  the 
work.]  This  naturally  produced  revolt,  and  tended 
to  divide  the  town  into  two  parties,  the  worldly 
and  the  devout.  The  love  of  pleasure  was  not 
extinguished,  and  various  influences  helped  to  keep 
it  alive.  Perhaps  none  of  these  was  so  potent  as 
the  presence  in  winter  of  a  considerable  number  of 
officers  from  France,  whose  piety  was  often  less 
conspicuous  than  their  love  of  enjoyment.  At  the 
Chateau  St.  Louis  a  circle  of  young  men,  more  or 
less  brilliant  and  accomplished,  surrounded  the 
governor,  and  formed  a  centre  of  social  attraction. 
Frontenac  was  not  without  religion,  and  he  held  it 
becoming  a  man  of  his  station  not  to  fail  in  its 
observances ;  but  he  would  not  have  a  Jesuit  con- 
fessor, and  placed  his  conscience  in  the  keeping 
of  the  Eecollet  friars,  who  were  not  politically 
aggressive,  and  who  had  been  sent  to  Canada  ex- 
pressly as  a  foil  to  the  rival  order.  They  found 
no  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  bishop  and  his  adherents, 
and  the  governor  found  none  for  the  support  he 
lent  them. 

1  Old  Regime,  chap.  xix. 


324  AN   INTERLUDE.  [1693,  1694. 

The  winter  that  followed  the  arrival  of  the  furs 
from  the  upper  lakes  was  a  season  of  gayety  with- 
out precedent  since  the  war  began.  All  was  har- 
mony at  Quebec  till  the  carnival  approached,  when 
Frontenac,  whose  youthful  instincts  survived  his 
seventy-four  }^ears,  introduced  a  startling  novelty 
which  proved  the  signal  of  discord.  One  of  his 
military  circle,  the  sharp-witted  La  Motte-Caclillac, 
thus  relates  this  untoward  event  in  a  letter  to  a 
friend  :  "  The  winter  passed  very  pleasantly,  es- 
pecially to  the  officers,  who  lived  together  like 
comrades ;  and,  to  contribute  to  their  honest  en- 
joyment, the  count  caused  two  plays  to  be  acted, 
'  Nicomede  '  and  c  Mi thri elate.' '  It  was  an  amateur 
performance,  in  which  the  officers  took  part  along 
with  some  of  the  ladies  of  Quebec.  The  success  was 
prodigious,  and  so  was  the  storm  that  followed. 
Half  a  century  before,  the  Jesuits  had  grieved  over 
the  first  ball  in  Canada.  Private  theatricals  were 
still  more  baneful.  "  The  clergy,"  continues  La 
Motte,  "  beat  their  alarm  drums,  armed  cap-a-pie, 
and  snatched  their  bows  and  arrowrs.  The  Sieur 
Glandelet  was  first  to  begin,  and  preached  two 
sermons,  in  which  he  tried  to  prove  that  nobody 
could  go  to  a  play  without  mortal  sin.  The  bishop 
issued  a  mandate,  and  had  it  read  from  the  pulpits, 
in  which  he  speaks  of  certain  impious,  impure,  and 
noxious  comedies,  insinuating  that  those  which  had 
been  acted  were  such.  The  credulous  and  infat- 
uated people,  seduced  by  the  sermons  and  the 
mandate,  began  already  to  regard  the  count  as  a 
corrupter  of  morals  and   a  destroyer  of  religion. 


1694.]  "TARTUFFE."  325 

The  numerous  party  of  the  pretended  devotees 
mustered  in  the  streets  and  public  places,  and 
presently  made  their  way  into  the  houses,  to  con- 
firm the  weak-minded  in  their  illusion,  and  tried  to 
make  the  stronger  share  it ;  but,  as  they  failed  in 
this  almost  completely,  they  resolved  at  last  to  con- 
quer or  die,  and  persuaded  the  bishop  to  use  a 
strange  device,  which  was  to  publish  a  mandate  in 
the  church,  whereby  the  Sieur  de  Mareuil,  a  half- 
pay  lieutenant,  was  interdicted  the  use  of  the 
sacraments."  ! 

This  story  needs  explanation.  Not  only  had 
the  amateur  actors  at  the  chateau  played  two  pieces 
inoffensive  enough  in  themselves,  but  a  report  had 
been  spread  that  they  meant  next  to  perform  the 
famous  "  Tartuffe  "  of  Moliere,  a  satire  which,  while 
purporting  to  be  levelled  against  falsehood,  lust, 
greed,  and  ambition,  covered  with  a  mask  of  religion, 
was  rightly  thought  by  a  portion  of  the  clergy  to  be 
levelled  against  themselves.  The  friends  of  Fron- 
tenac  say  that  the  report  was  a  hoax.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  the  bishop  believed  it.  "  This  worthy  prel- 
ate," continues  the  irreverent  La  Motte,  "  was 
afraid  of  i  Tartuffe,'  and  had  got  it  into  his  head  that 
the  count  meant  to  have  it  played,  though  he  had 
never  thought  of  such  a  thing.  Monsieur  cle  Saint- 
Vallier  sweated  blood  and  water  to  stop  a  torrent 
which  existed  only  in  his  imagination."  It  was 
now  that  he  launched  his  two  mandates,  both  on 
the  same  day ;  one  denouncing  comedies  in  general 
and  "  Tartuffe  "  in  particular,  and  the  other  smiting 

1  La  Motte- Cadillac  a ,  28  Sept.,  1694. 


326  AN    INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

Mareuil,  who,  he  says,  "  uses  language  capable  of 
making  Heaven  blush,"  and  whom  he  elsewhere 
stigmatizes  as  "worse  than  a  Protestant."  x  It  was 
Mareuil  who,  as  reported,  was  to  play  the  part  of 
Tartuffe  ;  and  on  him,  therefore,  the  brunt  of  epis- 
copal indignation  fell.  He  was  not  a  wholly  ex- 
emplary person.  "  I  mean,"  says  La  Motte,  "  to 
show  you  the  truth  in  all  its  nakedness.  The 
fact  is  that,  about  two  years  ago,  when  the  Sieur 
cle  Mareuil  first  came  to  Canada,  and  was  carousing 
with  his  friends,  he  sang  some  indecent  song  or 
other.  The  count  was  tolcl  of  it,  and  gave  him  a 
severe  reprimand.  This  is  the  charge  against  him. 
After  a  two  years'  silence,  the  pastoral  zeal  has 
wakened,  because  a  play  is  to  be  acted  which  the 
clergy  mean  to  stop  at  any  cost." 

The  bishop  found  another  way  of  stopping  it. 
He  met  Frontenac,  with  the  intendant,  near  the 
Jesuit  chapel,  accosted  him  on  the  subject  which 
filled  his  thoughts,  and  offered  him  a  hundred 
pistoles  if  he  would  prevent  the  playing  of  "  Tar- 
tuffe." Frontenac  laughed,  and  closed  the  bargain. 
Saint- Vallier  wrote  his  note  on  the  spot ;  and  the 
governor  took  it,  apparently  well  pleased  to  have 
made  the  bishop  disburse.  "  I  thought,"  writes 
the  intendant,  "  that  Monsieur  de  Frontenac  would 
have  given  him  back  the  paper."  He  did  no  such 
thing,  but  drew  the  money  on  the  next  clay  and 
gave  it  to  the  hospitals.2 

1  Mandement  an  Sujet  des  Comedies,  16  Jan.,  1694  ;  Mandement  an  Sujet 
de  certaines  Personnes  qui  tenoient  des  Discours  impies,  me  me  date  ;  Registre 
du  Conseil  Souverain. 

2  This  incident  is  mentioned  by  La  Motte-Cadillac ;  by  the  intendant, 


1694.]  MAREUIL  AND  THE  BISHOP.  327 

Mareuil,  deprived  of  the  sacraments,  and  held 
up  to  reprobation,  went  to  see  the  bishop,  who 
refused  to  receive  him ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  was 
taken  by  the  shoulders  and  put  out  of  doors.  He 
now  resolved  to  bring  his  case  before  the  council ; 
but  the  bishop  was  informed  of  his  purpose,  and 
anticipated  it.  La  Motte  says  "  he  went  before 
the  council  on  the  first  of  February,  and  denounced 
the  Sieur  de  Mareuil,  whom  he  declared  guilty  of 
impiety  towards  God,  the  Virgin,  and  the  Saints, 
and  made  a  fine  speech  in  the  absence  of  the  count, 
interrupted  by  the  effusions  of  a  heart  which 
seemed  filled  with  a  profound  and  infinite  charity, 
but  which,  as  he  said,  was  pushed  to  extremity  by 
the  rebellion  of  an  indocile  child,  who  had  neglected 
all  his  warnings.  This  was,  nevertheless,  assumed  ; 
I  will  not  say  entirely  false." 

The  bishop  did,  in  fact,  make  a  vehement  speech 
against  Mareuil  before  the  council  on  the  day  in 
question ;  Mareuil  stoutly  defending  himself,  and 
entering  his  appeal  against  the  episcopal  mandate.1 
The  battle  was  now  fairly  joined.  Frontenac  stood 
alone  for  the  accused.  The  intendant  tacitly  favored 
his  opponents.  Auteuil,  the  attorney-general,  and 
Villeray,  the  first  councillor,  owed  the  governor 
an  old  grudge ;  and  they  and  their  colleagues 
sided  with  the  bishop,  with  the  outside  support  of 
all  the  clergy,  except  the  Kecollets,  who,  as  usual, 
ranged   themselves  with   their   patron.     At   first, 

who  reports  it  to  the  minister ;  hy  the  minister  Ponchartrain,  who  asks 
Frontenac  for  an  explanation  ;  by  Frontenac,  who  passes  it  off  as  a  jest ; 
and  by  several  other  contemporary  writers. 

1  Regislre  da  Conseil  Souverain,  1  et  8  Fev.,  1694. 


328  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

Frontenac  showed  great  moderation,  but  grew 
vehement,  and  then  violent,  as  the  dispute  pro- 
ceeded ;  as  did  also  the  attorney-general,  who  seems 
to  have  done  his  best  to  exasperate  him.  Fron- 
tenac affirmed  that,  in  depriving  Mareuil  and 
others  of  the  sacraments,  with  no  proof  of  guilt 
and  no  previous  warning,  and  on  allegations  which, 
even  if  true,  could  not  justify  the  act,  the  bishop 
exceeded  his  powers,  and  trenched  on  those  of  the 
king.  The  point  was  delicate.  The  attorney- 
general  avoided  the  issue,  tried  to  raise  others,  and 
revived  the  old  quarrel  about  Frontenac's  place  in 
the  council,  which  had  been  settled  fourteen  years 
before.  Other  questions  were  brought  up,  and 
angrily  debated.  The  governor  demanded  that 
the  debates,  along  with  the  papers  which  intro- 
duced them,  should  be  entered  on  the  record,  that 
the  king  might  be  informed  of  every  thing;  but 
the  demand  was  refused.  The  discords  of  the 
council  chamber  spread  into  the  town.  Quebec 
was  divided  against  itself.  Mareuil  insulted  the 
bishop ;  and  some  of  his  scapegrace  sympathizers 
broke  the  prelate's  windows  at  night,  and  smashed 
his  chamber-door.1  Mareuil  was  at  last  ordered 
to  prison,  and  the  whole  affair  was  referred  to  the 
king.2 

These  proceedings  consumed  the  spring,  the 
summer,  and  a  part  of  the  autumn.  Meanwhile, 
an  access  of  zeal  appeared  to  seize  the  bishop ;  and 
he  launched  interdictions    to  the  right   and   left. 

1  Champigntj  an  Ministre,  27  Oct.,  1694. 

2  Registre  du  Conseil  Souverain ;  Requeste  du  Sieur  de  Mareuil,  Nov.,  1694. 


1694.]  SAINT- VALLIER  AND   CALLIERES.  329 

Even  Champigny  was  startled  when  lie  refused 
the  sacraments  to  all  but  four  or  five  of  the  mili- 
tary officers  for  alleged  tampering  with  the  pay  of 
their  soldiers,  a  matter  wholly  within  the  province 
of  the  temporal  authorities.1  During  a  recess  of 
the  council,  he  set  out  on  a  pastoral  tour,  and, 
arriving  at  Three  Rivers,  excommunicated  an 
officer  named  Desjordis  for  a  reputed  intrigue  with 
the  wife  of  another  officer.  He  next  repaired  to 
Sorel,  and,  being  there  on  a  Sunday,  was  tolcl  that 
two  officers  had  neglected  to  go  to  mass.  He 
wrote  to  Frontenac,  complaining  of  the  offence. 
Frontenac  sent  for  the  culprits,  and  rebuked  them  ; 
but  retracted  his  words  when  they  proved  by  sev- 
eral witnesses  that  they  had  been  duly  present  at 
the  rite.2  The  bishop  then  went  up  to  Montreal, 
and  discord  went  with  him. 

Except  Frontenac  alone,  Callieres,  the  local 
governor,  was  the  man  in  all  Canada  to  whom  the 
country  owed  most ;  but,  like  his  chief,  he  was  a 
friend  of  the  Eecollets,  and  this  did  not  commend 
•him  to  the  bishop.  The  friars  were  about  to  re- 
ceive two  novices  into  their  order,  and  they  invited 
the  bishop  to  officiate  at  the  ceremony.  Callieres 
was  also  present,  kneeling  at  a  prie-dieu,  or  prayer- 
desk,  near  the  middle  of  the  church.  Saint-Yallier, 
having  just  said  mass,  was  seating  himself  in  his 
arm-chair,  close  to  the  altar,  when  he  saw  Callieres 

i  Champigny  an  Ministre,  24  Oct.,  1694.  Trouble  on  this  matter  had 
begun  some  time  before.  Me'moire  du  Roy  pour  Frontenac  et  Champiyny, 
1694  ;  Le  Ministre  a  I'Eveque,  8  Mai,  1694. 

2  La  M of te-  Cadillac  a ,  28  Sept.,  1694;   Champigny  au  Ministre, 

27  Oct.,  1694. 


330  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

at  the  prie-dieu,  with  the  position  of  which  he  had 
already  found  fault  as  being  too  honorable  for  a 
subordinate  governor.  He  now  rose,  approached 
the  object  of  his  disapproval,  and  said,  "  Monsieur, 
you  are  taking  a  place  which  belongs  only  to  Mon- 
sieur de  Frontenac."  Callieres  replied  that  the 
place  was  that  which  properly  belonged  to  him. 
The  bishop  rejoined  that,  if  he  did  not  leave  it,  he 
himself  would  leave  the  church.  "  You  can  do  as 
you  please,"  said  Callieres ;  and  the  prelate  with- 
drew abruptly  through  the  sacristy,  refusing  any 
farther  part  in  the  ceremony.1  When  the  services 
were  over,  he  ordered  the  friars  to  remove  the 
obnoxious  prie-dieu.  They  obeyed  ;  but  an  officer 
of  Callieres  replaced  it,  and,  unwilling  to  offend 
him,  they  allowed  it  to  remain.  On  this,  the 
bishop  laid  their  church  under  an  interdict;  that 
is,  he  closed  it  against  the  celebration  of  all  the 
rites  of  religion.2  He  then  issued  a  pastoral  man- 
date, in  which  he  charged  Father  Joseph  Denys, 
their  superior,  with  offences  which  he  "  dared  not 
name  for  fear  of  making  the  paper  blush."  3  His 
tongue  was  less  bashful  than  his  pen  ;  and  he  gave 
out  publicly  that  the  father  superior  had  acted  as 
go-between  in  an  intrigue  of  his  sister  with  the 

1  Proces-verbal  du  Pere  Hyacinthe  Perrault,  Commissaire  Provincial  des 
Re'collets  {Archives  Nationales)  ;  Me'moire  touckant  le  Demesle  entre  M. 
VEvesque  de  Quebec  et  le   Chevalier  de   Callieres   (Ibid.). 

2  Mandement  ordonnant  de  fermer  VEglise  des  Rccollets,  13  Mai,  1694. 

3  "Le  Superieur  du  dit  Couvent  estant  lie  avec  le  Gouverneur  de  la 
dite  ville  par  des  interests  que  tout  le  monde  scait  et  qu'on  n'oseroit  ex- 
primer  de  peur  de  faire  rougir  le  papier."  Extrait  du  Mandement  de 
VEvesque  de  Quebec  (Archives  Nationales).  He  had  before  charged 
Mareuil  with  language  "  capable  de  faire  rougir  le  ciel." 


1694.1  THE  QUARREL   SPREADS.  331 

Chevalier  cle  Callieres.1  It  is  said  that  the  accusa- 
tion was  groundless,  and  the  character  of  the 
woman  wholly  irreproachable.  The  Kecollets 
submitted  for  two  months  to  the  bishop's  inter- 
dict, then  refused  to  obey  longer,  and  opened 
their  church  again. 

Quebec,  Three  Rivers,  Sorel,  and  Montreal  had 
all  been  ruffled  by  the  breeze  of  these  dissensions, 
and  the  farthest  outposts  of  the  wilderness  were 
not  too  remote  to  feel  it.  La  Motte-Cadillac  had 
been  sent  to  replace  Louvigny  in  the  command  of 
Michillimackinac,  where  he  had  scarcely  arrived, 
when  trouble  fell  upon  him.  "  Poor  Monsieur  de 
la  Motte-Cadillac,"  says  Frontenac,  "  would  have 
sent  you  a  journal  to  show  you  the  persecutions 
he  has  suffered  at  the  post  where  I  placed  him,  and 
where  he  does  wonders,  having  great  influence 
over  the  Indians,  who  both  love  and  fear  him,  but 
he  has  had  no  time  to  copy  it.  Means  have  been 
found  to  excite  against  him  three  or  four  officers 
of  the  posts  dependent  on  his,  who  have  put  upon 
him  such  strange  and  unheard  of  affronts,  that  I 
was  obliged  to  send  them  to  prison  when  they  came 
down  to  the  colony.  A  certain  Father  Carheil,  the 
Jesuit  who  wrote  me  such  insolent  letters  a  few 

l  "  ]\jr  l'Evesque  accuse  publiquement  le  Rev.  Pere  Joseph,  superieur 
des  Recollets  de  Montreal,  d'etre  l'entremetteur  d'une  galanterie  entre 
sa  soeur  et  le  Gouverneur.  Cependant  Mr.  l'Evesque  sait  certainement 
que  le  Pere  Joseph  est  l'un  des  meilleurs  et  des  plus  saints  religieux  de 
son  ordre.  Ce  qu'il  allegue  du  pre'tendu  commerce  entre  le  Gouverneur 
et  la  Dame  de  la  Naudiere  (soeur  du  Pere  Joseph)  est  entierement  faux,  et 
il  l'a  publie  avec  scandale,  sans  preuve  et  contre  toute  apparence,  la  ditte 
Dame  ayant  toujours  eu  une  conduite  irreprochable."  Me'moire  touchant 
le  De'mesle,  etc.  Champigny  also  says  that  the  bishop  has  brought  this 
charge,  and  that  Callieres  declares  that  he  has  told  a  falsehood.  Cham- 
pigny au  Ministre,  27  Oct.,  1694. 


332  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1094. 

years  ago,  has  played  an  amazing  part  in  this  affair. 
I  shall  write  about  it  to  Father  La  Chaise,  that  he 
may  set  it  right.  Some  remedy  must  be  found ; 
for,  if  it  continues,  none  of  the  officers  who  were 
sent  to  Michillimackinac,  the  Miamis,  the  Illinois, 
and  other  places,  can  stay  there  on  account  of  the 
persecutions  to  which  they  are  subjected,  and  the 
refusal  of  absolution  as  soon  as  they  fail  to  do  what 
is  wanted  of  them.  Joined  to  all  this  is  a  shame- 
ful traffic  in  influence  and  money.  Monsieur  cle 
Tonty  could  have  written  to  you  about  it,  if  he  had 
not  been  obliged  to  go  off  to  the  Assinneboins,  to 
rid  himself  of  all  these  torments."  L  In  fact,  there 
was  a  chronic  dispute  at  the  forest  outposts  be- 
tween the  officers  and  the  Jesuits,  concerning  which 
matter  much  might  be  said  on  both  sides. 

The  bishop  sailed  for  France.  "  He  has  gone," 
writes  Callieres, "  after  quarrelling  with  everybody." 
The  various  points  in  dispute  were  set  before  the 
king.  An  avalanche  of  memorials,  letters,  and 
proces-verhaux,  descended  upon  the  unfortunate 
monarch ;  some  concerning  Mareuil  and  the  quar- 
rels in  the  council,  others  on  the  excommunication 
of  Desjordis,  and  others  on  the  troubles  at  Mon- 
treal. They  were  all  referred  to  the  king's  privy 
council.2  An  adjustment  was  effected :  order,  if 
not  harmony,  wras  restored ;  and  the  usual  distribu- 
tion of  advice,  exhortation,  reproof,  and  menace, 
was  made  to  the  parties  in  the  strife.  Frontenac 
was  commended  for  defending  the  royal  preroga- 

1  Frontenac  a  M.  de  Lagny,  2  Nov.,  1695. 

2  Arrest  qui  ordonne  que  les  Procedures  faites  entre  le  Sieur  Evesque  de 
Qn€bec  et  les  Sieurs  Mareuil,  Desjordis,  etc.,  seront  evoquez  au  Conseil  Priv€ 
de  Sa  Majeste,  3  Juillet,  1695. 


1695.]  LIBEL  AGAINST  FRONTENAC.  333 

tive,  censured  for  violence,  and  admonished  to  avoid 
future  quarrels.1  Champigny  was  reproved  for  not 
supporting  the  governor,  and  told  that  "  his  Maj- 
esty sees  with  great  pain  that,  while  he  is  making 
extraordinary  efforts  to  sustain  Canada  at  a  time 
so  critical,  all  his  cares  and  all  his  outlays  are  made 
useless  by  your  misunderstanding  with  Monsieur 
de  Frontenac."  2  The  attorney-general  was  sharply 
reprimanded,  told  that  he  must  mend  his  ways  or 
lose  his  place,  and  ordered  to  make  an  apology  to 
the  governor.3  Villeray  was  not  honored  by  a 
letter,  but  the  intendant  was  directed  to  tell  him 
that  his  behavior  had  greatly  disposed  the  king. 
Callieres  was  mildly  advised  not  to  take  part  in  the 
disputes  of  the  bishop  and  the  Kecollets.4  Thus 
was  conjured  clown  one  of  the  most  bitter  as  well 
as  the  most  needless,  trivial,  and  untimely,  of  the 
quarrels  that  enliven  the  annals  of  New  France. 

A  generation  later,  when  its  incidents  had  faded 
from  memory,  a  passionate  and  reckless  partisan, 
Abbe  La  Tour,  published,  and  probably  invented, 
a  story  which  later  writers  have  copied,  till  it  now 
forms  an  accepted  episode  of  Canadian  history.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  Frontenac,  in  order  to  ridicule  the 
clergy,  formed  an  amateur  company  of  comedians 
expressly  to  play  "  Tartuffe ; "  and,  after  rehearsing 
at  the  chateau  during  three  or  four  months,  they 
acted  the  piece  before  a  large  audience.  "  He  was 
not  satisfied  with  having  it  played  at  the  chateau, 
but  wanted  the  actors  and  actresses  and  the  dan- 

1  Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  4  Juin,  1695  ;  Ibid.,  8  Juin,  1695. 

2  Le  Ministre  a  Champigny,  4  Juin,  1695;  Ibid.,  8  Juin,  1695. 

3  Le  Ministre  a  d'Auteuil,  8  Juin,  1695. 

4  Le  Ministre  a  Callieres.  8  Juin,  1695. 


334  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

cers,  male  and  female,  to  go  in  full  costume,  with 
violins,  to  play  it  in  all  the  religious  communities, 
except  the  Recollets.  He  took  them  first  to  the 
house  of  the  Jesuits,  where  the  crowd  entered  with 
him ;  then  to  the  Hospital,  to  the  hall  of  the  pau- 
pers, whither  the  nuns  were  ordered  to  repair ;  then 
he  went  to  the  Ursuline  Convent,  assembled  the 
sisterhood,  and  had  the  piece  played  before  them. 
To  crown  the  insult,  he  wanted  next  to  go  to  the 
seminary,  and  repeat  the  spectacle  there ;  but,  warn- 
ing having  been  given,  he  was  met  on  the  way,  and 
begged  to  refrain.  He  dared  not  persist,  and  with- 
drew in  very  ill-humor."  1 

Not  one  of  numerous  contemporary  papers,  both 
official  and  private,  and  written  in  great  part  by 
enemies  of  Frontenac,  contains  the  slightest  allu- 
sion to  any  such  story,  and  many  of  them  are 
wholly  inconsistent  with  it.  It  may  safely  be  set 
down  as  a  fabrication  to  blacken  the  memory  of 
the  governor,  and  exhibit  the  bishop  and  his  ad- 
herents as  victims  of  persecution.2 

1  La  Tour,  Vie  de  Laval,  liv.  xii. 

2  Had  an  outrage,  like  that  with  which  Frontenac  is  here  charged, 
actually  taken  place,  the  registers  of  the  council,  the  letters  of  the  in- 
tendant  and  the  attorney-general,  and  the  records  of  the  bishopric  of 
Quebec  would  not  have  failed  to  show  it.  They  show  nothing  beyond 
a  report  that  "  Tartuffe  "  was  to  be  played,  and  a  payment  of  money  by  the 
bishop  in  order  to  prevent  it.  We  are  left  to  infer  that  it  was  prevented 
accordingly.  I  have  the  best  authority  —  that  of  the  superior  of  the 
convent  (1871),  herself  a  diligent  investigator  into  the  history  of  her  com- 
munity—  for  stating  that  neither  record  nor  tradition  of  the  occurrence 
exists  among  the  Ursulines  of  Quebec ;  and  I  have  been  unable  to  learn 

^that  any  such  exists  among  the  nuns  of  the  Hospital  (Hotel-l)ieu).  The 
contemporary  Recit  d'une  Religieuse  Ursuline  speaks  of  Frontenac  with 
gratitude,  as  a  friend  and  benefactor,  as  does  also  Mother  Juchereau, 
superior  of  the  Hotel-Dieu. 


CHAPTEK  XVI. 

1690-1694. 
THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA. 

State   of   that    Colony.  —  The    Abenakis.  —  Acadia    and    New 
England.  —  Pirates.  —  Baron   de    Saint-Castin.  —  Pentegoet. 

—  The  English  Frontier.  —  The  French    and  the  Abenakis. 

—  Plan    of    the    War.  —  Capture    of    York.  —  Villebon.  — 
Grand  War-party.  —  Attack  of  Wells.  —  Pemaquid  rebuilt. 

—  John   Nelson.  —  A  Broken   Treaty. — Villieu   and  Thury. 

—  Another  War-party.  —  Massacre  at  Oyster  River. 

Amid  domestic  strife,  the  war  with  England  and 
the  Iroquois  still  went  on.  The  contest  for  terri- 
torial mastery  was  fourfold  :  first,  for  the  control 
of  the  west ;  secondly,  for  that  of  Hudson's  Bay  ; 
thirdly,  for  that  of  Newfoundland ;  and,  lastly,  for 
that  of  Acadia.  All  these  vast  and  widely  sundered 
regions  were  included  in  the  government  of  Fron- 
tenac.  Each  division  of  the  war  was  distinct  from 
the  rest,  and  each  had  a  character  of  its  own.  As 
the  contest  for  the  west  was  wholly  with  New  York 
and  her  Iroquois  allies,  so  the  contest  for  Acadia  was 
wholly  with  the  "  Bostonnais,"  or  people  of  New 
England. 

Acadia,  as  the  French  at  this  time  understood 
the  name,  included  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick, 
and  the  greater  part  of  Maine.     Sometimes  they 


336  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

placed  its  western  boundary  at  the  little  River  St. 
George,  and  sometimes  at  the  Kennebec.  Since 
the  wars  of  D'Aulnay  and  La  Tour,  this  wilderness 
had  been  a  scene  of  unceasing  strife ;  for  the  Eng- 
lish drew  their  eastern  boundary  at  the  St.  Croix, 
and  the  claims  of  the  rival  nationalities  overlapped 
each  other.  In  the  time. of  Cromwell,  Sedgwick,  a 
New  England  officer,  had  seized  the  whole  country. 
The  peace  of  Breda  restored  it  to  France :  the 
Chevalier  cle  Grandfontaine  was  ordered  to  reoccupy 
it,  and  the  king  sent  out  a  few  soldiers,  a  few 
settlers,  and  a  few  women  as  their  wives.1  Grand- 
fontaine held  the  nominal  command  for  a  time, 
followed  by  a  succession  of  military  chiefs,  Chambly, 
Marson,  and  La  Valliere.  Then  Perrot,  whose  mal- 
practices had  cost  him  the  government  of  Montreal, 
was  made  governor  of  Acaclia;  and,  as  he  did  not 
mend  his  ways,  he  was  replaced  by  Meneval.2 

One  might  have  sailed  for  days  along  these 
lonely  coasts,  and  seen  no  human  form.  At  Can- 
seau,  or  Chedabucto,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Nova 
Scotia,  there  was  a  fishing  station  and  a  fort ;  Chi- 
buctou,  now  Halifax,  was  a  solitude ;  at  La  Heve 
there  were  a  few  fishermen ;  and  thence,  as  you 
doubled  the  rocks  of  Cape  Sable,  the  ancient  haunt 
of  La  Tour,  you  would  have  seen  four  French 
settlers,  and  an  unlimited  number  of  seals  and  sea- 

1  In  1671,  30  garqons  and  30  Jilles  were  sent  by  the  king  to  Acadia,  at 
the  cost  of  6,000  livres.     Etat  de  Dfyenses,  1671. 

2  Grandfontaine,  1670;  Chambly,  1673 ;  Marson,  1678 ;  La  Valliere, 
the  same  year,  Marson  having  died;  Perrot,  1684;  Meneval,  1687.  The 
last  three  were  commissioned  as  local  governors,  in  subordination  to  the 
governor-general.     The  others  were  merely  military  commandants. 


1670-90.]  STATE  OF  ACADIA.  337 

fowl.  Eanging  the  shore  by  St.  Mary's  Bay,  and 
entering  the  Strait  of  Annapolis  Basin,  you  would 
have  found  the  fort  of  Port  Royal,  the  chief  place 
of  all  Acadia.  It  stood  at  the  head  of  the  basin, 
where  De  Monts  had  planted  his  settlement  nearly 
a  century  before.  Around  the  fort  and  along  the 
neighboring  river  were  about  ninety-five  small 
houses ;  and  at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  were 
two  other  settlements,  Beaubassin  and  Les  Mines, 
comparatively  stable  and  populous.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  John  were  the  abandoned  ruins  of  La 
Tour's  old  fort ;  and  on  a  spot  less  exposed,  at 
some  distance  up  the  river,  stood  the  small  wooden 
fort  of  Jemsec,  with  a  few  intervening  clearings. 
Still  sailing  westward,  passing  Mount  Desert,  an- 
other scene  of  ancient  settlement,  and  entering 
Penobscot  Bay,  you  would  have  found  the  Baron 
de  Saint-Castin  with  his  Indian  harem  at  Pente- 
goet,  where  the  town  of  Castine  now  stands.  All 
Acadia  was  comprised  in  these  various  stations, 
more  or  less  permanent,  together  with  one  or  two 
small  posts  on  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the 
huts  of  an  errant  population  of  fishermen  and  fur 
traders.  In  the  time  of  Denonville,  the  colonists 
numbered  less  than  a  thousand  souls.  The  king, 
busied  with  nursing  Canada,  had  neglected  its  less 
important  dependency.1 

Rude  as  it  was,  Acadia  had  charms,  and  it  has 
them    still :    in   its   wilderness   of   woods   and   its 


1  The  census  taken  by  order  of  Meules  in  1686  gives  a  total  of  885 
persons,  of  whom  592  were  at  Port  Royal,  and  127  at  Beaubassin.  By 
the  census  of  1693,  the  number  had  reached  1,009. 

22 


338  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

wilderness  of  waves  ;  the  rocky  ramparts  that  guard 
its  coasts  ;  its  deep,  still  bays  and  foaming  head- 
lands ;  the  towering  cliffs  of  the  Grand  Menan  ;  the 
innumerable  islands  that  cluster  about  Penobscot 
Bay ;  and  the  romantic  highlands  of  Mount  Desert, 
down  whose  gorges  the  sea-fog  rolls  like  an  invad- 
ing host,  while  the  spires  of  fir-trees  pierce  the 
surging  vapors  like  lances  in  the  smoke  of  battle. 

Leaving  Pentegoet,  and  sailing  westward  all  day 
along  a  solitude  of  woods,  one  might  reach  the 
English  outpost  of  Pemaquid,  and  thence,  still 
sailing  on,  might  anchor  at  evening  off  Casco  Bay, 
and  see  in  the  glowing  west  the  distant  peaks  of 
the  White  Mountains,  spectral  and  dim  amid  the 
weird  and  fiery  sunset. 

Inland  Acadia  was  all  forest,  and  vast  tracts  of 
it  are  a  primeval  forest  still.  Here  roamed  the 
Abenakis  with  their  kindred  tribes,  a  race  wild  as 
their  haunts.  In  habits  they  were  all  much  alike. 
Their  villages  were  on  the  waters  of  the  Andro- 
scoggin, the  Saco,  the  Kennebec,  the  Penobscot,  the 
St.  Croix,  and  the  St.  John  ;  here  in  spring  they 
planted  their  corn,  beans,  and  pumpkins,  and  then, 
leaving  them  to  grow,  went  down  to  the  sea  in 
their  birch  canoes.  They  returned  towards  the 
end  of  summer,  gathered  their  harvest,  and  went 
again  to  the  sea,  where  they  lived  in  abundance  on 
ducks,  geese,  and  other  water-fowl.  During  winter, 
most  of  the  women,  children,  and  old  men  remained 
in  the  villages ;  while  the  hunters  ranged  the  forest 
in  chase  of  moose,  deer,  caribou,  beavers,  and  bears. 

Their  summer  stay  at  the  seashore  was  perhaps 


1670-90.]  THE  ABENAKIS.  339 

the  most  pleasant,  and  certainly  the  most  pictur- 
esque, part  of  their  lives.  Bivouacked  by  some  of 
the  innumerable  coves  and  inlets  that  indent  these 
coasts,  they  passed  their  days  in  that  alternation 
of  indolence  and  action  which  is  a  second  nature  to 
the  Indian.  Here  in  wet  weather,  while  the  torpid 
water  was  dimpled  with  rain-drops,  and  the  up- 
turned canoes  lay  idle  on  the  pebbles,  the  listless 
warrior  smoked  his  pipe  under  his  roof  of  bark,  or 
launched  his  slender  craft  at  the  dawn  of  the  July 
day,  when  shores  and  islands  were  painted  in  shadow 
against  the  rosy  east,  and  forests,  dusky  and  cool, 
lay  waiting  for  the  sunrise. 

The  women  gathered  raspberries  or  whortle- 
berries in  the  open  places  of  the  woods,  or  clams 
and  oysters  in  the  sands  and  shallows,  adding  their 
shells  as  a  contribution  to  the  shell-heaps  that  have 
accumulated  for  ages  along  these  shores.  The  men 
fished,  speared  porpoises,  or  shot  seals.  A  priest 
was  often  in  the  camp  watching  over  his  flock,  and 
saying  mass  every  day  in  a  chapel  of  bark.  There 
was  no  lack  of  altar  candles,  made  by  mixing  tal- 
low with  the  wax  of  the  bayberry,  which  abounded 
among  the  rocky  hills,  and  was  gathered  in  profu- 
sion by  the  squaws  and  children. 

The  Abenaki  missions  were  a  complete  success. 
Not  only  those  of  the  tribe  who  had  been  induced 
to  migrate  to  the  mission  villages  of  Canada,  but 
also  those  who  remained  in  their  native  woods, 
were,  or  were  soon  to  become,  converts  to  Roman- 
ism, and  therefore  allies  of  France.  Though  less 
ferocious  than  the  Iroquois,  they  were  brave,  after 


340  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

the  Indian  manner,  and  they  rarely  or  never  prac- 
tised cannibalism. 

Some  of  the  French  were  as  lawless  as  their  In- 
dian friends.  Nothing  is  more  strange  than  the 
incongruous  mixture  of  the  forms  of  feudalism  with 
the  independence  of  the  Acadian  woods.  Vast 
grants  of  land  were  made  to  various  persons,  some 
of  whom  are  charged  with  using  them  for  no  other 
purpose  than  roaming  over  their  domains  with  In- 
dian women.  The  only  settled  agricultural  popu- 
lation was  at  Port  Eoyal,  Beaubassin,  and  the 
Basin  of  Minas.  The  rest  were  fishermen,  fur 
traders,  or  rovers  of  the  forest.  Eepeated  orders 
came  from  the  court  to  open  a  communication  with 
Quebec,  and  even  to  establish  a  line  of  military 
posts  through  the  intervening  wilderness,  but  the 
distance  and  the  natural  difficulties  of  the  country 
proved  insurmountable  obstacles.  If  communica- 
tion with  Quebec  was  difficult,  that  with  Boston 
was  easy ;  and  thus  Acadia  became  largely  depen- 
dent on  its  New  England  neighbors,  who,  says  an 
Acadian  officer,  "  are  mostly  fugitives  from  Eng- 
land, guilty  of  the  death  of  their  late  king,  and 
accused  of  conspiracy  against  their  present  sover- 
eign ;  others  of  them  are  pirates,  and  they  are  all 
united  in  a  sort  of  independent  republic."  1  Their 
relations  with  the  Acadians  were  of  a  mixed  sort. 
They  continually  encroached  on  Acadian  fishing 
grounds,  and  we  hear  at  one  time  of  a  hundred  of 
their  vessels  thus  engaged.  This  was  not  all.  The 
interlopers  often  landed  and  traded  with  the  Indians 

1  Me'moire  du  Sieur  Bergicr,  1685. 


1670-90.]  HERESY.  341 

along  the  coast.  Meneval,  the  governor,  com- 
plained bitterly  of  their  arrogance.  Sometimes,  h\ 
is  said,  they  pretended  to  be  foreign  pirates,  and 
plundered  vessels  and  settlements,  while  the  ag- 
grieved parties  could  get  no  redress  at  Boston. 
They  also  carried  on  a  regular  trade  at  Port  Koyal 
and  Les  Mines  or  Grand  Pre,  where  many  of  the 
inhabitants  regarded  them  with  a  degree  of  favor 
which  gave  great  umbrage  to  the  military  authori- 
ties, who,  nevertheless,  are  themselves  accused  of 
seeking  their  own  profit  by  dealings  with  the  here- 
tics ;  and  even  French  priests,  including  Petit,  the 
cure  of  Port  Royal,  are  charged  with  carrying  on 
this  illicit  trade  in  their  own  behalf,  and  in  that  of 
the  seminary  of  Quebec.  The  settlers  caught  from 
the  "  Bostonnais  "  what  their  governor  stigmatizes 
as  English  and  parliamentary  ideas,  the  chief  effect 
of  which  was  to  make  them  restive  under  his  rule. 
The  Church,  moreover,  was  less  successful  in  ex- 
cluding heresy  from  Acadia  than  from  Canada.  A 
number  of  Huguenots  established  themselves  at 
Port  Royal,  and  formed  sympathetic  relations  with 
the  Boston  Puritans.  The  bishop  at  Quebec  was 
much  alarmed.  "  This  is  dangerous,"  he  writes. 
"  I  pray  your  Majesty  to  put  an  end  to  these  dis- 
orders." 1 

A  sort  of  chronic  warfare  of  aggression  and  re- 

1  L'J^veque  au  Roy,  10  Nov.,  1683.  For  the  preceding  pages,  the  au- 
thorities are  chiefly  the  correspondence  of  Grandfontaine,  Marson,  La 
Valliere,  Meneval,  Bergier,  Goutins,  Perrot,  Talon,  Frontenac,  and  other 
officials.  A  large  collection  of  Acadian  documents,  from  the  archives  of 
Paris,  is  in  my  possession.  I  have  also  examined  the  Acadian  collections 
made  for  the  government  of  Canada  and  for  that  of  Massachusetts. 


342  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

prisal,  closely  akin  to  piracy,  was  carried  on  at 
intervals  in  Acadian  waters  by  French  private 
armed  vessels  on  one  hand,  and  New  England 
private  armed  vessels  on  the  other.  Genuine 
pirates  also  frequently  appeared.  They  were  of 
various  nationality,  though  usually  buccaneers 
from  the  West  Indies.  They  preyed  on  New  Eng- 
land trading  and  fishing  craft,  and  sometimes  at- 
tacked French  settlements.  One  of  their  most 
notorious  exploits  was  the  capture  of  two  French 
vessels  and  a  French  fort  at  Chedabucto  by  a  pirate, 
manned  in  part,  it  is  said,  from  Massachusetts.1  A 
similar  proceeding  of  earlier  date  was  the  act  of 
Dutchmen  from  St.  Domingo.  They  made  a 
descent  on  the  French  fort  of  Pentegoet,  on  Pen- 
obscot Bay.  Chambly,  then  commanding  for  the 
king  in  Acadia,  was  in  the  place.  They  assaulted 
his  works,  wounded  him,  took  him  prisoner,  and 
carried  him  to  Boston,  where  they  held  him  at 
ransom.  His  young  ensign  escaped  into  the  woods, 
and  carried  the  news  to  Canada ;  but  many  months 
elapsed  before  Chambly  was  released.2 

This  young  ensign  was  Jean  Vincent  de  l'Abadie, 
Baron  de  Saint-Castin,  a  native  of  Beam,  on  the 
slopes  of  the  Pyrenees,  the  same  rough,  strong  soil 

1  Meneval,  Memoire,  1688  ;  Denonville,  Me'moire,  18  Oct.,  1688  ;  Proces- 
verbal  du  Pillage  de  Chedabucto ;  Relation  de  la  Boullaye,  1688. 

2  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  14  Nov.,  1674  ;  Frontenac  a  Leverett,  gouverneur 
de  Boston,  24  Sept.,  1674  ;  Frontenac  to  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 25  May,  1675  (see  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  64)  ;  Colbert  a  Frontenac, 
15  May,  1675.  Frontenac  supposed  the  assailants  to  be  buccaneers. 
They  had,  however,  a  commission  from  William  of  Orange.  Hutchin- 
son says  that  the  Dutch  again  took  Pentegoet  in  1676,  but  were  driven 
off  by  ships  from  Boston,  as  the  English  claimed  the  place  for  them- 
selves. 


1670-90.]  BARON  DE   SAINT-CASTIN.  343 

that  gave  to  France  her  Henri  IV.  When  fifteen 
years  of  age,  he  came  to  Canada  with  the  regiment 
of  Carignan-Salieres,  ensign  in  the  company  of 
Chambly ;  and,  when  the  regiment  was  disbanded, 
he  followed  his  natural  bent,  and  betook  himself 
to  the  Acadian  woods.  At  this  time  there  was  a 
square  bastioned  fort  at  Pentegoet,  mounted  with 
twelve  small  cannon ;  but  after  the  Dutch  attack  it 
fell  into  decay.1  Saint-Castin,  meanwhile,  roamed 
the  woods  with  the  Indians,  lived  like  them,  formed 
connections  more  or  less  permanent  with  their 
women,  became  himself  a  chief,  and  gained  such 
ascendency  over  his  red  associates  that,  according 
to  La  Hontan,  they  looked  upon  him  as  their 
tutelary  god.  He  was  bold,  hardy,  adroit,  tena- 
cious ;  and,  in  spite  of  his  erratic  habits,  had  such 
capacity  for  business,  that,  if  we  may  believe  the 
same  somewhat  doubtful  authority,  he  made  a 
fortune  of  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  crowns. 
His  gains  came  chiefly  through  his  neighbors  of 
New  England,  whom  he  hated,  but  to  whom  he 
sold  his  beaver  skins  at  an  ample  profit.  His 
trading  house  was  at  Pentegoet,  now  called  Castine, 
in  or  near  the  old  fort ;  a  perilous  spot,  which  he 
occupied  or  abandoned  by  turns,  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  time.  Being  a  devout  Catholic  he 
wished  to  add  a  resident  priest  to  his  establishment 

1  On  its  condition  in  1670,  Estat  du  Fort  et  Place  de  Pentegoet  fit  it  en 
I'anne'e  1670,  lorsque  les  Anglois  I'ont  rendu.  In  1671,  fourteen  soldiers  and 
eight  laborers  were  settled  near  the  fort.  Talon  au  Ministre,  2  Nov., 
1671.  In  the  next  year,  Talon  recommends  an  envoi  de  Jilles  for  the 
benefit  of  Pentegoet.  Me'moire  stir  le  Canada,  1672.  As  late  as  1698,  we 
find  Acadian  officials  advising  the  reconstruction  of  the  fort. 


344  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

for  the  conversion  of  his  Indian  friends ;  but,  ob- 
serves Father  Petit  of  Port  Royal,  who  knew  him 
well,  "  he  himself  has  need  of  spiritual  aid  to  sustain 
him  in  the  paths  of  virtue."  !  He  usually  made  two 
visits  a  year  to  Port  Royal,  where  he  gave  liberal 
gifts  to  the  church  of  which  he  was  the  chief 
patron,  attended  mass  with  exemplary  devotion, 
and  then,  shriven  of  his  sins,  returned  to  his 
squaws  at  Pentegoet.  Perrot,  the  governor,  ma- 
ligned him  ;  the  motive,  as  Saint- Castin  says,  being 
jealousy  of  his  success  in  trade,  for  Perrot  himself 
traded  largely  with  the  English  and  the  Indians. 
This,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been  his  chief  occupa- 
tion; and,  as  Saint-Castin  was  his  principal  rival, 
they  were  never  on  good  terms.  Saint-Castin 
complained  to  Denonville.  "  Monsieur  Petit,"  he 
writes,  "  will  tell  you  every  thing.  I  will  only  say 
that  he  (Pe?Tot)  kept  me  under  arrest  from  the 
twenty-first  of  April  to  the  ninth  of  June,  on  pre- 
tence of  a  little  weakness  I  had  for  some  women, 
and  even  told  me  that  he  had  your  orders  to  do  it : 
but  that  is  not  what  troubles  him ;  and  as  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  another  man  under  heaven  who 
will  do  meaner  things  through  love  of  gain,  even 
to  selling  brandy  by  the  pint  and  half-pint  before 
strangers  in  his  own  house,  because  he  does  not 
trust  a  single  one  of  his  servants,  —  I  see  plainly 
what  is  the  matter  with  him.  He  wants  to  be  the 
only  merchant  in  Acadia."  2 

Perrot  was  recalled  this  very  year ;  and  his  suc- 

1  Petit  in  Saint- Vallier,  Estat  de  I'Ealise,  39  (1856). 

2  Saint-Castin  a  Denonville,  2  Juiliet,  1687. 


1670-90.]  PENTEGOET.  345 

cessor,  Meneval,  received  instructions  in  regard 
to  Saint-Castin,  which  show  that  the  king  or  his 
minister  had  a  clear  idea  both  of  the  baron's 
merits  and  of  his  failings.  The  new  governor  was 
ordered  to  require  him  to  abandon  "  his  vagabond 
life  among  the  Indians,"  cease  all  trade  with  the 
English,  and  establish  a  permanent  settlement. 
Meneval  was  farther  directed  to  assure  him  that, 
if  he  conformed  to  the  royal  will,  and  led  a  life 
"more  becoming  a  gentleman,"  he  might  expect 
to  receive  proofs  of  his  Majesty's  approval.1 

In  the  next  year,  Meneval  reported  that  he  had 
represented  to  Saint-Castin  the  necessity  of  reform, 
and  that  in  consequence  he  had  abandoned  his 
trade  with  the  English,  given  up  his  squaws,  mar- 
ried, and  promised  to  try  to  make  a  solid  settle- 
ment.2 True  he  had  reformed  before,  and  might 
need  to  reform  again  ;  but  his  faults  were  not  of 
the  baser  sort :  he  held  his  honor  high,  and  was 
free-handed  as  he  was  bold.  His  wife  was  what 
the  early  chroniclers  would  call  an  Indian  princess ; 
for  she  was  the  daughter  of  Madockawando,  chief 
of  the  Penobscots. 

So  critical  was  the  position  of  his  post  at  Pente- 
goet  that  a  strong  fort  and  a  sufficient  garrison 
could  alone  hope  to  maintain  it  against  the  pirates 
and  the  "  Bostonnais."  Its  vicissitudes  had  been 
many.  Standing  on  ground  claimed  by  the  Eng- 
lish, within  territory  which  had  been  granted  to 

1  Instruction  du  Roy  au  Sieur  de  Meneval,  5  Avril,  1G87. 

2  Me'moire  da  Sieur  de  Meneval  sur  VAcadie,  10  Sept.,  1088. 


346  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

the  Duke  of  York,  and  which,  on  his  accession  to 
the  throne,  became  a  part  of  the  royal  domain,  it 
was  never  safe  from  attack.  In  1686,  it  was  plun- 
dered by  an  agent  of  Dongan.  In  1687,  it  was 
plundered  again;  and  in  the  next  year  Andros, 
then  royal  governor,  anchored  before  it  in  his 
frigate,  the  "  Rose,"  landed  with  his  attendants, 
and  stripped  the  building  of  all  it  contained, 
except  a  small  altar  with  pictures  and  ornaments, 
which  they  found  in  the  principal  room.  Saint- 
Castin  escaped  to  the  woods ;  and  Andros  sent  him 
word  by  an  Indian  that  his  property  would  be 
carried  to  Pemaquid,  and  that  he  could  have  it 
again  by  becoming  a  British  subject.  He  refused 
the  offer.1 

The  rival  English  post  of  Pemaquid  was  destroyed, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  Abenakis  in  1689;  and,  in 
the  following  year,  they  and  their  French  allies  had 
made  such  havoc  among  the  border  settlements  that 
nothing  was  left  east  of  the  Piscataqua  except  the 
villages  of  Wells,  York,  and  Kittery.  But  a  change 
had  taken  place  in  the  temper  of  the  savages, 
mainly  due  to  the  easy  conquest  of  Port  Royal  by 
Phips,  and  to  an  expedition  of  the  noted  partisan 
Church  by  which  they  had  suffered  considerable 
losses.  Fear  of  the  English  on  one  hand,  and  the 
attraction  of  their  trade  on  the  other,  disposed 
many  of  them  to  peace.  Six  chiefs  signed  a  truce 
with  the  commissioners  of  Massachusetts,  and  prom- 
ised to  meet  them  in  council  to  bury  the  hatchet 
for  ever. 

1  M hnoire  pr£sent€ au  Roy  d'Angleterre,  1687 ;  Saint-Castin  a  Dononville, 
7  Juillet,  1687;  Hutchinson  Collection,  562,  563;  Andros  Tracts,  I.  118. 


1690-92.]  FRENCH  AND  ABENAKIS.  347 

The  French  were  filled  with  alarm.  Peace  be- 
tween the  Abenakis  and  the  "  Bostonnais  "  would  be 
disastrous  both  to  Acadia  and  to  Canada,  because 
these  tribes  held  the  passes  through  the  northern 
wilderness,  and,  so  long  as  they  were  in  the  inter- 
est of  France,  covered  the  settlements  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  from  attack.  Moreover,  the  government 
relied  on  them  to  fight  its  battles.  Therefore,  no 
pains  were  spared  to  break  off  their  incipient  treaty 
with  the  English,  and  spur  them  again  to  war. 
Villebon,  a  Canadian  of  good  birth,  one  of  the 
brothers  of  Portneuf,  was  sent  by  the  king  to  gov- 
ern Acadia.  Presents  for  the  Abenakis  were  given 
him  in  abundance ;  and  he  was  ordered  to  assure 
them  of  support,  so  long  as  they  fought  for 
France.1  He  and  his  officers  were  told  to  join 
their  war-parties ;  while  the  Canadians,  who  fol- 
lowed him  to  Acadia,  were  required  to  leave  all 
other  employments  and  wage  incessant  war  against 
the  English  borders.  "  You  yourself,"  says  the 
minister,  "  will  herein  set  them  so  good  an  exam- 
ple, that  they  will  be  animated  by  no  other  desire 
than  that  of  making  profit  out  of  the  enemy :  there 
is  nothing  which  I  more  strongly  urge  upon  you 
than  to  put  forth  all  your  ability  and  prudence  to 
prevent  the  Abenakis  from  occupying  themselves 
in  any  thing  but  war,  and  by  good  management  of 
the  supplies  which  you  have  received  for  their  use 
to  enable  them  to  live  by  it  more  to  their  advan- 
tage than  by  hunting."  2 

1  Me'moire  pour  servir  d' Instruction  au  Sieur  de  Villebon,  1691. 

2  "  Comrae  vostre  principal  objet  doit  estre  de  faire  la  guerre  sans  re- 
lache  aux  Anglois,  it  faut  que  vostre  plus  partieuliere  application  soit 


348  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1690-92. 

Armed  with  these  instructions,  Villebon  re- 
paired to  his  post,  where  he  was  joined  by  a  body 
of  Canadians  under  Portneuf.  His  first  step  was 
to  reoccupy  Port  Eoyal ;  and,  as  there  was  nobody 
there  to  oppose  him,  he  easily  succeeded.  The  set- 
tlers renounced  allegiance  to  Massachusetts  and 
King  William,  and  swore  fidelity  to  their  natural 
sovereign.1  The  capital  of  Acadia  dropped  back 
quietly  into  the  lap  of  France  ;  but,  as  the  "  Boston- 
nais "  might  recapture  it  at  any  time,  Villebon 
crossed  to  the  St.  John,  and  built  a  fort  high  up 
the  stream  at  Naxouat,  opposite  the  present  city  of 
Fredericton.  Here  no  "Bostonnais"  could  reach 
him,  and  he  could  muster  war-parties  at  his  leisure. 

One  thing  was  indispensable.  A  blow  must  be 
struck  that  would  encourage  and  excite  the  Aben- 
akis.  Some  of  them  had  had  no  part  in  the  truce, 
and  were  still  so  keen  for  English  blood  that  a 
deputation  of  their  chiefs  told  Frontenac  at  Quebec 
that  they  would  fight,  even  if  they  must  head  their 
arrows  with  the  bones  of  beasts.2  They  were  under 
no  such  necessity.  Guns,  powder,  and  lead  were 
given  them  in  abundance ;  and  Thury,  the  priest 

de  detourner  de  tout  autre  employ  les  Francois  qui  sont  avec  vous,  en 
leur  donnant  de  vostre  part  un  si  bon  exemple  en  cela  qu'ils  ne  soient 
animez  que  du  de'sir  de  chercher  a  faire  du  proffit  sur  les  ennemis.  Je 
n'ay  aussy  rien  a  vous  recoramander  plus  fortement  que  de  mettre  en 
usage  tout  ee  que  vous  pouvez  avoir  de  capacite  et  de  prudence  afin  que 
les  Canibas  (Abenakis)  ne  s'employent  qu'a  la  guerre,  et  que  par  l'eeono- 
mie  de  ce  que  vous  avez  a  leur  fournir  ils  y  puissent  trouver  leur  subsis- 
tance  et  plus  d'avantage  qu'a  la  chasse."  Le  Ministre  a  Villebon,  Avril, 
1692.  Two  years  before,  the  king  had  ordered  that  the  Abenakis  should 
be  made  to  attack  the  English  settlements. 

1  Proces-verbul  de  la  Prise  de  Possession  du  Port  Royal,  27  Sept.,  1691. 

2  Paroles  des  Sauvages  de  la  Mission  de  Pentegoet. 


1692.]  CAPTURE   OF  YORK.  349 

on  the  Penobscot,  urged  them  to  strike  the  Eng- 
lish. A  hundred  and  fifty  of  his  converts  took  the 
war-path,  and  were  joined  by  a  band  from  the  Ken- 
nebec. It  was  January ;  and  they  made  their  way  on 
snow-shoes  along  the  frozen  streams,  and  through 
the  deathly  solitudes  of  the  winter  forest,  till,  after 
marching  a  month,  they  neared  their  destination, 
the  frontier  settlement  of  York.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  fourth  of  February,  they  encamped  at  the 
foot  of  a  high  hill,  evidently  Mount  Agamenticus, 
from  the  top  of  which  the  English  village  lay  in 
sight.  It  was  a  collection  of  scattered  houses  along 
the  banks  of  the  river  Agamenticus  and  the  shore 
of  the  adjacent  sea.  Five  or  more  of  them  were 
built  for  defence,  though  owned  and  occupied  by 
families  like  the  other  houses.  Near  the  sea  stood 
the  unprotected  house  of  the  chief  man  of  the 
place,  Dummer,  the  minister.  York  appears  to 
have  contained  from  three  to  four  hundred  per- 
sons of  all  ages,  for  the  most  part  rude  and  ignorant 
borderers. 

The  warriors  lay  shivering  all  night  in  the  forest, 
not  daring  to  make  fires.  In  the  morning,  a  heavy 
fall  of  snow  began.  They  moved  forward,  and 
soon  heard  the  sound  of  an  axe.  It  was  an  English 
boy  chopping  wood.  They  caught  him,  extorted 
such  information  as  they  needed,  then  tomahawked 
him,  and  moved  on,  till,  hidden  by  the  forest  and 
the  thick  snow,  they  reached  the  outskirts  of  the 
village.  Here  they  divided  into  two  parties,  and  each 
took  its  station.  A  gun  was  fired  as  a  signal,  upon 
which  they  all  yelled  the  war-whoop,  and  dashed 


350  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1692. 

upon  their  prey.  One  party  mastered  the  nearest 
fortified  house,  which  had  scarcely  a  defender  but 
women.  The  rest  burst  into  the  unprotected 
houses,  killing  or  capturing  the  astonished  inmates. 
The  minister  was  at  his  door,  in  the  act  of  mounting 
his  horse  to  visit  some  distant  parishioners,  when  a 
bullet  struck  him  dead.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard College,  a  man  advanced  in  life,  of  some  learn- 
ing, and  greatly  respected.  The  French  accounts 
say  that  about  a  hundred  persons,  including  women 
and  children,  were  killed,  and  about  eighty  cap- 
tured. Those  who  could,  ran  for  the  fortified 
houses  of  Preble,  Harmon,  Alcock,  and  Norton, 
which  were  soon  filled  with  the  refugees.  The 
Indians  did  not  attack  them,  but  kept  well  out 
of  gun-shot,  and  busied  themselves  in  pillaging, 
killing  horses  and  cattle,  and  burning  the  unpro- 
tected houses.  They  then  divided  themselves  into 
small  bands,  and  destroyed  all  the  outlying  farms 
for  four  or  five  miles  around. 

The  wish  of  King  Louis  was  fulfilled.  A  good 
profit  had  been  made  out  of  the  enemy.  The 
victors  withdrew  into  the  forest  with  their  plunder 
and  their  prisoners,  among  whom  were  several  old 
women  and  a  number  of  children  from  three  to 
seven  years  old.  These,  with  a  forbearance  which 
does  them  credit,  they  permitted  to  return  unin- 
jured to  the  nearest  fortified  house,  in  requital,  it 
is  said,  for  the  lives  of  a  number  of  Indian  children 
spared  by  the  English  in  a  recent  attack  on  the 
Androscoggin.  The  wife  of  the  minister  was 
allowed  to  go  with  them ;  but  her  son  remained  a 


1692.1  VILLEBON  AND  THE   ABEXAETS.  351 


risoner.  and  the  agonized  mother  went  back  to 


Lo 


p 

the  Indian  camp  to  beg  for  his  release.  They 
again  permitted  her  to  return;  but,  when  she 
came  a  second  time,  they  told  her  that,  as  she 
wanted  to  be  a  prisoner,  she  should  have  her  wish. 
She  was  carried  with  the  rest  to  their  village,  where 
she  soon  died  of  exhaustion  and  distress.  One  of 
the  warriors  arrayed  himself  in  the  gown  of  the 
slain  minister,  and  preached  a  mock  sermon  to  the 
captive  parishioners.1 

Leaving  York  in  ashes,  the  victors  began  their 
march  homeward  ;  while  a  body  of  men  from  Ports- 
mouth followed  on  their  trail,  but  soon  lost  it,  and 
failed  to  overtake  them.  There  was  a  season  of 
feasting  and  scalp-dancing  at  the  Abenaki  towns ; 
and  then,  as  spring  opened,  a  hundred  of  the  war- 
riors set  out  to  visit  Villebon,  tell  him  of  their 
triumph,  and  receive  the  promised  gifts  from  their 
great  father  the  king.  Villebon  and  his  brothers, 
Portneuf ,  Neuvillette,  and  Desiles,  with  their  Cana- 
dian followers,  had  spent  the  winter  chiefly  on  the 
St.  John,  finishing  their  fort  at  Naxouat,  and  pre- 
paring for  future  operations.     The  Abenaki  visitors 

1  The  best  French  account  of  the  capture  of  York  is  that  of  Cham- 
pigny  in  a  letter  to  the  minister,  5  Oct.,  1692.  His  information  came 
from  an  Abenaki  chief,  who  was  present.  The  journal  of  Villebon  con- 
tains an  exaggerated  account  of  the  affair,  also  derived  from  Indians. 
Compare  the  English  accounts  in  Mather,  Williamson,  and  Xiles.  These 
writers  make  the  number  of  slain  and  captives  much  less  than  that  given 
by  the  French.  In  the  contemporary  journal  of  Rev.  John  Pike,  it  is 
placed  at  48  killed  and  73  taken. 

Two  fortified  houses  of  this  period  are  still  (1875)  standing  at  York. 
They  are  substantial  buildings  of  squared  timber,  with  the  upper  story 
projecting  over  the  lower,  so  as  to  allow  a  vertical  fire  on  the  heads  of 
assailants.  In  one  of  them  some  of  the  loopholes  for  musketry  are  still 
left  open.  They  may  or  may  not  have  been  originally  enclosed  by 
palisades. 


352  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1692. 

arrived  towards  the  end  of  April,  and  were  received 
with  all  possible  distinction.  There  were  speeches, 
gifts,  and  feasting ;  for  they  had  clone  much,  and 
were  expected  to  do  more.  Portneuf  sang  a  war- 
song  in  their  language ;  then  he  opened  a  barrel 
of  wine:  the  guests  emptied  it  in  less  than  fifteen 
minutes,  sang,  whooped,  danced,  and  promised  to 
repair  to  the  rendezvous  at  Saint-Castin's  station  of 
Pentegoet.1  A  grand  war-party  was  afoot ;  and  a 
new  and  withering  blow  was  to  be  struck  against 
the  English  border.  The  guests  set  out  for  Pente- 
goet, followed  by  Portneuf,  Desiles,  La  Brognerie, 
several  other  officers,  and  twenty  Canadians.  A 
few  days  after,  a  large  band  of  Micmacs  arrived ; 
then  came  the  Malicite  warriors  from  their  village 
of  Medoctec  ;  and  at  last  Father  Baudoin  appeared, 
leading  another  band  of  Micmacs  from  his  mission 
of  Beaubassin.  Speeches,  feasts,  and  gifts  were 
made  to  them  all ;  and  they  all  followed  the  rest 
to  the  appointed  rendezvous. 

At  the  beginning  of  June,  the  site  of  the  town 
of  Castine  was  covered  with  wigwams  and  the 
beach  lined  with  canoes.  Malecites  and  Micmacs, 
Abenakis  from  the  Penobscot  and  Abenakis  from 
the  Kennebec,  were  here,  some  four  hundred  war- 
riors in  all.2  Here,  too,  were  Portneuf  and  his 
Canadians,  the  Baron  de  Saint-Castin  and  his  Indian 
father-in-law,  Maclockawanclo,  with  Moxus,  Egere- 
met,  and  other  noted  chiefs,  the  terror  of  the  Eng- 
lish borders.  They  crossed  Penobscot  Bay,  and 
marched  upon  the  frontier  village  of  Wells. 

1  Villebon,  Journal  de  ce  qui  s'est  passd  a  I'Acadie,  1691, 1692. 

2  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Sept.,  1692. 


1692.]  ATTACK  ON  WELLS.  353 

Wells,  like  York,  was  a  small  settlement  of  scat- 
tered houses  along  the  sea-shore.  The  year  be- 
fore, Moxus  had  vainly  attacked  it  with  two 
hundred  warriors.  All  the  neighboring  country 
had  been  laid  waste  by  a  murderous  war  of  detail, 
the  lonely  farm-houses  pillaged  and  burned,  and  the 
survivors  driven  back  for  refuge  to  the  older  settle- 
ments.1 Wells  had  been  crowded  with  these  refu- 
gees ;  but  famine  and  misery  had  driven  most  of 
them  beyond  the  Piscataqua,  and  the  place  was 
now  occupied  by  a  remnant  of  its  own  destitute 
inhabitants,  who,  warned  by  the  fate  of  York,  had 
taken  refuge  in  five  fortified  houses.  The  largest 
of  these,  belonging  to  Joseph  Storer,  was  surrounded 
by  a  palisade,  and  occupied  by  fifteen  armed  men, 
under  Captain  Convers,  an  officer  of  militia.  On 
the  ninth  of  June,  two  sloops  and  a  sail-boat  ran  up 
the  neighboring  creek,  bringing  supplies  and  four- 
teen more  men.  The  succor  came  in  the  nick  of 
time.  The  sloops  had  scarcely  anchored,  when  a 
number  of  cattle  were  seen  running  frightened  and 
wounded  from  the  woods.  It  was  plain  that  an 
enemy  was  lurking  there.  All  the  families  of  the 
place  now  gathered  within  the  palisades  of  Storer's 
house,  thus  increasing  his  force  to  about  thirty 
men ;  and  a  close  watch  was  kept  throughout  the 
night. 

In  the  morning,  no  room  was  left  for  doubt. 
One  John  Diamond,  on  his  way  from  the  house  to 

1  The  ravages  committed  by  the  Abenakis  in  the  preceding  year 
among  the  scattered  farms  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  are  said  by 
Frontenac  to  have  been  "  impossible  to  describe."  Another  French 
writer  says  that  they  burned  more  than  200  houses. 

23 


354  THE    WAR   IN  ACADIA.  [1692. 

the  sloops,  was  seized  by  Indians  and  dragged  off 
by  the  hair.  Then  the  whole  body  of  savages  ap- 
peared swarming  over  the  fields,  so  confident  of 
success  that  they  neglected  their  usual  tactics  of 
surprise.  A  French  officer,  who,  as  an  old  English 
account  says,  was  "  habited  like  a  gentleman," 
made  them  an  harangue  :  they  answered  with  a 
burst  of  yells,  and  then  attacked  the  house,  firing, 
screeching,  and  calling  on  Convers  and  his  men  to 
surrender.  Others  gave  their  attention  to  the  two 
sloops,  which  lay  together  in  the  narrow  creek, 
stranded  by  the  ebbing  tide.  They  fired  at  them 
for  a  while  from  behind  a  pile  of  planks  on  the 
shore,  and  threw  many  fire-arrows  without  success, 
the  men  on  board  fighting  with  such  cool  and  dex- 
terous obstinacy  that  they  held  them  all  at  bay, 
and  lost  but  one  of  their  own  number.  Next,  the 
Canadians  made  a  huge  shield  of  planks,  which 
they  fastened  vertically  to  the  back  of  a  cart.  La 
Brognerie  wTith  twenty-six  men,  French  and  In- 
dians, got  behind  it,  and  shoved  the  cart  towards 
the  stranded  sloops.  It  was  within  fifty  feej;  of 
them,  when  a  wheel  sunk  in  the  mud,  and  the  ma- 
chine stuck  fast.  La  Brognerie  tried  to  lift  the 
wheel,  and  wTas  shot  dead.  The  tide  began  to  rise. 
A  Canadian  tried  to  escape,  and  was  also  shot. 
The  rest  then  broke  away  together,  some  of  them, 
as  they  ran,  dropping  under  the  bullets  of  the 
sailors. 

The  whole  force  now  gathered  for  a  final  attack 
on  the  garrison  house.  Their  appearance  was  so 
frightful,  and  their  clamor  so  appalling,  that  one 


1692.]  FRENCH  REPULSE.  355 

of  the  English  muttered  something  about  surren- 
der. Convers  returned,  "  If  you  say  that  again, 
you  are  a  dead  man."  Had  the  allies  made  a  bold 
assault,  he  and  his  followers  must  have  been  over- 
powered ;  but  this  mode  of  attack  was  contrary  to 
Indian  maxims.  They  merely  leaped,  yelled,  fired, 
and  called  on  the  English  to  yield.  They  were 
answered  with  derision.  The  women  in  the  house 
took  part  in  the  defence,  passed  ammunition  to  the 
men,  and  sometimes  fired  themselves  on  the  ene- 
my. The  Indians  at  length  became  discouraged, 
and  offered  Convers  favorable  terms.  He  answered, 
"  I  want  nothing  but  men  to  fight  with."  An 
Abenaki  who  spoke  English  cried  out :  "If  you 
are  so  bold,  why  do  you  stay  in  a  garrison  house 
like  a  squaw  ?  Come  out  and  fight  like  a  man  !  " 
Convers  retorted,  "  Do  you  think  I  am  fool  enough 
to  come  out  with  thirty  men  to  fight  five  hundred  ?  " 
Another  Indian  shouted,  "  Damn  you,  we'll  cut  you 
small  as  tobacco  before  morning."  Convers  re- 
turned a  contemptuous  defiance. 

After  a  while,  they  ceased  firing,  and  dispersed 
about  the  neighborhood,  butchering  cattle  and  burn- 
ing the  church  and  a  few  empty  houses.  As  the 
tide  began  to  ebb,  they  sent  a  fire-raft  in  full  blaze 
down  the  creek  to  destroy  the  sloops ;  but  it 
stranded,  and  the  attempt  failed.  They  now 
wreaked  their  fury  on  the  prisoner  Diamond,  whom 
they  tortured  to  death,  after  which  they  all  disap- 
peared. A  few  resolute  men  had  foiled  one  of  the 
most  formidable  bands  that  ever  took  the  war-path 
in  Acadia.1 

1  Villebon,  Journal  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  a  I'Acadie,  1691, 1692;  Mather, 


356  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1692. 

The  warriors  dispersed  to  their  respective  haunts ; 
and,  when  a  band  of  them  reached  the  St.  John, 
Villebon  coolly  declares  that  he  gave  them  a  pris- 
oner to  burn.  They  put  him  to  death  with  all  their 
ingenuity  of  torture.  The  act,  on  the  part  of  the 
governor,  was  more  atrocious,  as  it  had  no  motive 
of  reprisal,  and  as  the  burning  of  prisoners  was  not 
the  common  practice  of  these  tribes.1 

The  Avarlike  ardor  of  the  Abenakis  cooled  after 
the  failure  at  Wells,  and  events  that  soon  followed 
nearly  extinguished  it.  Phips  had  just  received 
his  preposterous  appointment  to  the  government  of 
Massachusetts.  To  the  disgust  of  its  inhabitants, 
the  stubborn  colony  was  no  longer  a  republic.  The 
new  governor,  unfit  as  he  was  for  his  office,  under- 
stood the  needs  of  the  eastern  frontier,  where  he 
had  spent  his  youth ;  and  he  brought  a  royal  order 

Magnolia,  II.  613 ;  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  II.  67 ;  Williamson,  History 
of  Maine,  I.  631 ;  Bourne,  History  of  Wells,  213;  Niles,  Indian  and  French 
Wars,  229.  Williamson,  like  Sylvanus  Davis,  calls  Portneuf  Burneffe 
or  Burniffe.  He,  and  other  English  writers,  call  La  Brognerie  Labocree. 
The  French  could  not  recover  his  body,  on  which,  according  to  Niles  and 
others,  was  found  a  pouch  "  stuffed  full  of  relics,  pardons,  and  indul- 
gences." The  prisoner  Diamond  told  the  captors  that  there  were  thirty 
men  in  the  sloops.  They  believed  him,  and  were  cautious  accordingly. 
There  were,  in  fact,  but  fourteen.  Most  of  the  fighting  was  on  the  tenth. 
On  the  evening  of  that  day,  Convers  received  a  reinforcement  of  six 
men.  They  were  a  scouting  party,  whom  he  had  sent  a  few  days  be- 
fore in  the  direction  of  Salmon  River.  Returning,  they  were  attacked, 
when  near  the  garrison  house,  by  a  party  of  Portneuf  s  Indians.  The 
sergeant  in  command  instantly  shouted,  "  Captain  Convers,  send  your 
men  round  the  hill,  and  we  shall  catch  these  dogs."  Thinking  that  Con- 
vers had  made  a  sortie,  the  Indians  ran  off,  and  the  scouts  joined  the 
garrison  without  loss. 

1  "  Le  18me  (Aout)  un  sauvage  anglois  fut  pris  au  bas  de  la  riviere  de 
St.  Jean.  Je  le  donnai  a  nos  sauvages  pour  estre  brule',  ce  qu'ils  firent  le 
lendemain.  On  ne  peut  rien  adjouter  aux  tourmens  qu'ils  luy  firent 
souffrir."     Villebon,  Journal,  1691,  1692. 


1692.]  JOHN   NELSON.  357 

to  rebuild  the  ruined  fort  at  Pemaquid.  The  king 
gave  the  order,  but  neither  men,  money,  nor  mu- 
nitions to  execute  it ;  and  Massachusetts  bore  all 
the  burden.  Phips  went  to  Pemaquid,  laid  out  the 
work,  and  left  a  hundred  men  to  finish  it.  A 
strong  fort  of  stone  was  built,  the  abandoned  can- 
non of  Casco  mounted  on  its  walls,  and  sixty  men 
placed  in  garrison. 

The  keen  military  eye  of  Frontenac  saw  the 
clanger  involved  in  the  re-establishment  of  Pema- 
quid. Lying  far  in  advance  of  the  other  English 
stations,  it  barred  the  passage  of  war-parties  along 
the  coast,  and  was  a  standing  menace  to  the  Abe- 
nakis.  It  was  resolved  to  capture  it.  Two  ships 
of  war,  lately  arrived  at  Quebec,  the  "  Poli  "  and  the 
"  Envieux,"  were  ordered  to  sail  for  Acadia  with 
above  four  hundred  men,  take  on  board  two  or 
three  hundred  Indians  at  Pentegoet,  reduce  Pema- 
quid, and  attack  Wells,  Portsmouth,  and  the  Isles 
of  Shoals;  after  which,  they  were  to  scour  the 
Acadian  seas  of  "  Bostonnais  "  fishermen. 

At  this  time,  a  gentleman  of  Boston,  John  Nel- 
son, captured  by  Villebon  the  year  before,  was  a 
prisoner  at  Quebec.  Nelson  was  nephew  and  heir 
of  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  in  whose  right  he  claimed 
the  proprietorship  of  Acadia,  under  an  old  grant 
of  Oliver  Cromwell.  He  was  familiar  both  with 
that  country  and  with  Canada,  which  he  had  vis- 
ited several  times  before  the  war.  As  he  was  a 
man  of  birth  and  breeding,  and  a  declared  enemy 
of  Phips,  and  as  he  had  befriended  French  pris- 
oners, and  shown  especial  kindness  to  Meneval,  the 


358  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1693. 

captive  governor  of  Acadia,  he  was  treated  with 
distinction  by  Frontenac,  who,  though  he  knew 
him  to  be  a  determined  enemy  of  the  French, 
lodged  him  at  the  chateau,  and  entertained  him  at 
his  own  table.1  Madockawando,  the  father-in-law 
of  Saint-Castin,  made  a  visit  to  Frontenac ;  and 
Nelson,  who  spoke  both  French  and  Indian,  con- 
trived to  gain  from  him  and  from  other  sources  a 
partial  knowledge  of  the  intended  expedition.  He 
was  not  in  favor  at  Boston ;  for,  though  one  of  the 
foremost  in  the  overthrow  of  Andros,  his  creed  and 
his  character  savored  more  of  the  Cavalier  than  of 
the  Puritan.  This  did  not  prevent  him  from  risk- 
ing his  life  for  the  colony.  He  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  authorities  of  Massachusetts,  and  then  bribed 
two  soldiers  to  desert  and  carry  it  to  them.  The 
deserters  were  hotly  pursued,  but  reached  their 
destination,  and  delivered  their  letter.  The  two 
ships  sailed  from  Quebec ;  but  when,  after  a  long 
delay  at  Mount  Desert,  they  took  on  board  the  In- 
dian allies  and  sailed  onward  to  Pemaquid,  they 
found  an  armed  ship  from  Boston  anchored  in  the 
harbor.  Why  they  did  not  attack  it,  is  a  mystery. 
The  defences  of  Pemaquid  were  still  unfinished, 
the  French  force  was  far  superior  to  the  English, 
and  Iberville,  who  commanded  it,  was  a  leader  of 
unquestionable  enterprise  and  daring.  Neverthe- 
less, the  French  did  nothing,  and  soon  after  bore 
away  for  France.  Frontenac  was  indignant,  and 
severely   blamed   Iberville,   whose   sister  was   on 

1   Champigny  au  Ministre,  4  Nov.,  1693. 


1693.]  ENGLISH  PLOT.  359 

board  his  ship,  and  was  possibly  the  occasion  of 
his  inaction.1 

Thus  far  successful,  the  authorities  of  Boston 
undertook  an  enterprise  little  to  their  credit.  They 
employed  the  two  deserters,  joined  with  two  Aca- 
dian prisoners,  to  kidnap  Saint-Castin,  whom,  next 
to  the  priest  Thury,  they  regarded  as  their  most 
insidious  enemy.  The  Acaclians  revealed  the  plot, 
and  the  two  soldiers  were  shot  at  Mount  Desert. 
Nelson  was  sent  to  France,  imprisoned  two  years 
in  a  dungeon  of  the  Chateau  of  Angouleme,  and 
then  placed  in  the  Bastile.  Ten  years  passed 
before  he  was  allowed  to  return  to  his  family  at 
Boston.2 

The  French  failure  at  Pemaquid  completed  the 
discontent  of  the  Abenakis ;  and  despondency  and 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  25  Oct.,  1693. 

2  Lagny,  Me'moire  surl'Acadie,  1692  ;  Memoire  sur  V Enlevement  de  Saint- 
Castin;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  25  Oct.,  1693;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s' 'est  pause 
de  plus  remarquable,  1690,  1691  (capture  of  Nelson)  ;  Frontenac  au  Min- 
istre, 15  Sept.,  1692;  Champigny  au  Ministre,  15  Oct.,  161)2.  Chainpigny 
here  speaks  of  Nelson  as  the  most  audacious  of  the  English,  and  the  most 
determined  on  the  destruction  of  the  French.  Nelson's  letter  to  the 
authorities  of  Boston  is  printed  in  Hutchinson,  I.  338.  It  does  not  warn 
them  of  an  attempt  against  Pemaquid,  of  the  rebuilding  of  which  he 
seems  not  to  have  heard,  but  only  of  a  design  against  the  seaboard  towns. 
Compare  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  555.  In  the  same  collection  is  a  Me- 
morial on  the  Northern  Colonies,  by  Nelson,  a  paper  showing  much  good 
sense  and  penetration.  After  an  imprisonment  of  four  and  a  half  years, 
he  was  allowed  to  go  to  England  on  parole  ;  a  friend  in  France  giving 
security  of  15,000  livres  for  his  return,  in  case  of  his  failure  to  procure 
from  the  king  an  order  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  terms  of  the  capitulation 
of  Port  Royal.  (Le  Ministre  a  Be'gon,  13  Jan.,  1694.)  He  did  not  succeed, 
and  the  king  forbade  him  to  return.  It  is  characteristic  of  him  that  he 
preferred  to  disobey  the  royal  order,  and  thus  incur  the  high  displeasure 
of  his  sovereign,  rather  than  break  his  parole  and  involve  his  friend  in 
loss.  La  Hontan  calls  him  a  "fort  galant  homme."  There  is  a  portrait 
of  him  at  Boston,  where  his  descendants  are  represented  by  the  prom- 
inent families  of  Derby  and  Borland. 


360  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1693. 

terror  seized  them  when,  in  the  spring  of  1693, 
Convers,  the  defender  of  Wells,  ranged  the  fron- 
tier with  a  strong  party  of  militia,  and  built  another 
stone  fort  at  the  falls  of  the  Saco.  In  July,  they 
opened  a  conference  at  Pemaquid  ;  and,  in  August, 
thirteen  of  their  chiefs,  representing,  or  pretending 
to  represent,  all  the  tribes  from  the  Merrimac  to 
the  St.  Croix,  came  again  to  the  same  place  to  con- 
clude a  final  treaty  of  peace  with  the  commissioners 
of  Massachusetts.  They  renounced  the  French 
alliance,  buried  the  hatchet,  declared  themselves 
British  subjects,  promised  to  give  up  all  prisoners, 
and  left  five  of  their  chief  men  as  hostages.1  The 
frontier  breathed  again.  Security  and  hope  re- 
turned to  secluded  dwellings  buried  in  a  treacher- 
ous forest,  where  life  had  been  a  nightmare  of 
horror  and  fear;  and  the  settler  could  go  to  his 
work  without  dreading  to  find  at  evening  his  cabin 
burned  and  his  wife  and  children  murdered.  He 
was  fatally  deceived,  for  the  danger  was  not  past. 
It  is  true  that  some  of  the  Abenakis  were  sin- 
cere in  their  pledges  of  peace.  A  party  among 
them,  headed  by  Madockawando,  were  dissatisfied 
writh  the  French,  anxious  to  recover  their  captive 
countrymen,  and  eager  to  reopen  trade  with  the 
English.  But  there  was  an  opposing  party,  led 
by  the  chief  Taxous,  who  still  breathed  war ;  while 
between  the  two  was  an  unstable  mob  of  warriors, 
guided  by  the  impulse  of  the  hour.2     The  French 

1  For  the  treaty  in  full,  Mather,  Magnolia,  II.  625. 

2  The  state  of  feeling  among  the  Abenakis  is  shown  in  a  letter  of 
Thury  to  Frontenac,  11  Sept.,  1694,  and  in  the  journal  of  Villebon  for 
1693. 


1694.]  VILLIEU.  361 

spared  no  efforts  to  break  off  the  peace.  The  two 
missionaries,  Bigot  on  the  Kennebec  and  Thury  on 
the  Penobscot,  labored  with  unwearied  energy  to 
urge  the  savages  to  war.  The  governor,  Villebon, 
flattered  them,  feasted  them,  adopted  Taxous  as 
his  brother,  and,  to  honor  the  occasion,  gave  him 
his  own  best  coat.  Twenty-five  hundred  pounds 
of  gunpowder,  six  thousand  pounds  of  lead,  and  a 
multitude  of  other  presents,  were  given  this  year 
to  the  Indians  of  Acadia.1  Two  of  their  chiefs  had 
been  sent  to  Versailles.  They  now  returned,  in 
gay  attire,  their  necks  hung  with  medals,  and  their 
minds  filled  with  admiration,  wonder,  and  bewilder- 
ment. 

The  special  duty  of  commanding  Indians  had 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  an  officer  named  Villieu,  who 
had  been  ordered  by  the  court  to  raise  a  war- 
party  and  attack  the  English.  He  had  lately  been 
sent  to  replace  Portneuf,  who  had  been  charged 
with  debauchery  and  peculation.  Villebon,  angry  at 
his  brother's  removal,  was  on  ill  terms  with  his  suc- 
cessor ;  and,  though  he  declares  that  he  did  his  best 
to  aid  in  raising  the  war-party,  Villieu  says,  on  the 
contrary,  that  he  was  worse  than  indifferent.  The 
new  lieutenant  spent  the  winter  at  Naxouat,  and 
on  the  first  of  May  went  up  in  a  canoe  to  the  Mali- 
cite  village  of  Medoctec,  assembled  the  chiefs,  and 
invited  them  to  war.  They  accepted  the  invitation 
with  alacrity.  Villieu  next  made  his  way  through 
the  wilderness  to  the  Indian  towns  of  the  Penobscot. 
On  the  ninth,  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Matta- 

1  Estat  de  Munitions,  etc.,  pour  les  Sauvages  de  I' Accidie,  1693. 


362  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1694. 

wamkeag,  where  he  found  the  chief  Taxous,  pad- 
dled with  him  down  the  Penobscot,  and,  at  midnight 
on  the  tenth,  landed  at  a  large  Indian  village,  at 
or  near  the  place  now  called  Passadumkeag.  Here 
he  found  a  powerful  ally  in  the  Jesuit  Vincent 
Bigot,  who  had  come  from  the  Kennebec,  with 
three  Abenaki s,  to  urge  their  brethren  of  the  Pen- 
obscot to  break  off  the  peace.  The  chief  envoy 
denounced  the  treaty  of  Pemaquid  as  a  snare  ;  and 
Villieu  exhorted  the  assembled  warriors  to  follow 
him  to  the  English  border,  where  honor  and  profit 
awaited  them.  But  first  he  invited  them  to  go 
back  with  him  to  Naxouat  to  receive  their  presents 
of  arms,  ammunition,  and  every  thing  else  that 
they  needed. 

They  set  out  with  alacrity.  Villieu  went  with  them, 
and  they  all  arrived  within  a  week.  They  were 
feasted  and  gifted  to  their  hearts'  content;  and 
then  the  indefatigable  officer  led  them  back  by  the 
same  long  and  weary  routes  which  he  had  passed 
and  repassed  before,  rocky  and  shallow  streams, 
chains  of  wilderness  lakes,  threads  of  water  writh- 
ing through  swamps  where  the  canoes  could 
scarcely  glide  among  the  water-weeds  and  alders. 
Villieu  was  the  only  white  man.  The  governor, 
as  he  says,  would  give  him  but  two  soldiers,  and 
these  had  run  off.  Early  in  June,  the  whole 
flotilla  paddled  clown  the  Penobscot  to  Pentegeot. 
Here  the  Indians  divided  their  presents,  which 
they  found  somewhat  less  ample  than  they  had 
imagined.  In  the  midst  of  their  discontent,  Ma- 
dockawando  came  from  Pemaquid  with  news  that 


1694.]  THE   ABENAKIS   HESITATE.  363 

the  governor  of  Massachusetts  was  about  to  deliver 
up  the  Indian  prisoners  in  his  hands,  as  stipulated 
by  the  treaty.  This  completely  changed  the 
temper  of  the  warriors.  Maclockawanclo  declared 
loudly  for  peace,  and  Villieu  saw  all  his  hopes 
wrecked.  He  tried  to  persuade  his  disaffected  allies 
that  the  English  only  meant  to  lure  them  to  de- 
struction, and  the  missionary  Thury  supported 
him  with  his  utmost  eloquence.  The  Indians  would 
not  be  convinced  ;  and  their  trust  in  English  good 
faith  was  confirmed,  when  they  heard  that  a  min- 
ister had  just  come  to  Pemaquid  to  teach  their 
children  to  read  and  write.  The  news  grew  worse 
and  worse.  Villieu  was  secretly  informed  that 
Phips  had  been  off  the  coast  in  a  frigate,  invited 
Madockawando  and  other  chiefs  on  board,  and 
feasted  them  in  his  cabin,  after  which  they  had  all 
thrown  their  hatchets  into  the  sea,  in  token  of 
everlasting  peace.  Villieu  now  despaired  of  his 
enterprise,  and  prepared  to  return  to  the  St.  John  ; 
when  Thury,  wise  as  the  serpent,  set  himself  to  work 
on  the  jealousy  of  Taxous,  took  him  aside,  and 
persuaded  him  that  his  rival,  Madockawando,  had 
put  a  slight  upon  him  in  presuming  to  make  peace 
without  his  consent.  "  The  effect  was  marvellous," 
says  Villieu.  Taxous,  exasperated,  declared  that 
he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  Madockawando's 
treaty.  The  fickle  multitude  caught  the  conta- 
gion, and  asked  for  nothing  but  English  scalps; 
but,  before  setting  out,  they  must  needs  go  back  to 
Passadumkeag  to  finish  their  preparations. 

Villieu  again  went  with  them,  and  on  the  way  his 


364  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1694. 

enterprise  and  he  nearly  perished  together.  His 
canoe  overset  in  a  rapid  at  some  distance  above 
the  site  of  Bangor  :  he  was  swept  down  the  current, 
his  head  was  dashed  against  a  rock,  and  his  body 
bruised  from  head  to  foot.  For  five  days  he  lay 
helpless  with  fever.  He  had  no  sooner  recovered 
than  he  gave  the  Indians  a  war-feast,  at  which 
they  all  sang  the  war-song,  except  Madockawando 
and  some  thirty  of  his  clansmen,  whom  the  others 
made  the  butt  of  their  taunts  and  ridicule.  The 
chief  began  to  waver.  The  officer  and  the  mis- 
sionary beset  him  with  presents  and  persuasion,  till 
at  last  he  promised  to  join  the  rest. 

It  was  the  end  of  June  when  Villieu  and  Thury, 
with  one  Frenchman  and  a  hundred  and  five  In- 
dians, began  their  long  canoe  voyage  to  the  Eng- 
lish border.  The  savages  were  directed  to  give  no 
quarter,  and  told  that  the  prisoners  already  in  their 
hands  would  insure  the  safety  of  their  hostages  in 
the  hands  of  the  English.1  More  warriors  were  to 
join  them  from  Bigot's  mission  on  the  Kennebec. 
On  the  ninth  of  July,  they  neared  Pemaquid  ;  but  it 
was  no  part  of  their  plan  to  attack  a  garrisoned 
post.  The  main  body  passed  on  at  a  safe  distance  ; 
while  Villieu  approached  the  fort,  dressed  and 
painted  like  an  Indian,  and  accompanied  by  two 
or  three  genuine  savages,  carrying  a  packet  of 
furs,  as  if  on  a  peaceful  errand  of  trade.  Such  visits 
from  Indians  had  been  common  since  the  treaty ; 
and,  while   his  companions  bartered   their  beaver 

1  Villebon,  Memoire,  Juillet,  1694  ;  Instruction  du  Sr.   de  Villebon  au  Sr. 
de  Villieu. 


1604.]  ATTACK  AT   OYSTER  RIVER.  365 

skins  with  the  unsuspecting  soldiers,  he  strolled 
about  the  neighborhood  and  made  a  plan  of  the 
works.  The  party  was  soon  after  joined  by  Bigot's 
Indians,  and  the  united  force  now  amounted  to  two 
hundred  and  thirty.  They  held  a  council  to  deter- 
mine where  they  should  make  their  attack,  but 
opinions  differed.  Some  were  for  the  places  west 
of  Boston,  and  others  for  those  nearer  at  hand. 
Necessity  decided  them.  Their  provisions  were  gone, 
and  Villieu  says  that  he  himself  was  dying  of  hun- 
ger. They  therefore  resolved  to  strike  at  the 
nearest  settlement,  that  of  Oyster  River,  now  Dur- 
ham, about  twelve  miles  from  Portsmouth.  They 
cautiously  moved  forward,  and  sent  scouts  in  ad- 
vance, who  reported  that  the  inhabitants  kept  no 
watch.  In  fact,  a  messenger  from  Phips  had  as- 
sured them  that  the  war  was  over,  and  that  they 
could  follow  their  usual  vocations  without  fear. 

Villieu  and  his  band  waited  till  night,  and  then 
made  their  approach.  There  was  a  small  village ; 
a  church  ;  a  mill ;  twelve  fortified  houses,  occupied 
in  most  cases  only  by  families ;  and  many  unpro- 
tected farm-houses,  extending  several  miles  along 
the  stream.  The  Indians  separated  into  bands,  and, 
stationing  themselves  for  a  simultaneous  attack  at 
numerous  points,  lay  patiently  waiting  till  towards 
day.  The  moon  was  still  bright  when  the  first 
shot  gave  the  signal,  and  the  slaughter  began. 
The  two  palisaded  houses  of  Adams  and  Drew, 
without  garrisons,  were  taken  immediately,  and  the 
families  butchered.  Those  of  Edgerly,  Beard,  and 
Medar  were  abandoned,  and  most  of  the  inmates 


366  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1694. 

escaped.  The  remaining  seven  were  successfully 
defended,  though  several  of  them  were  occupied 
only  by  the  families  which  owned  them.  One  of 
these,  belonging  to  Thomas  Bickford,  stood  by  the 
river  near  the  lower  end  of  the  settlement.  Roused 
by  the  firing,  he  placed  his  wife  and  children  in  a 
boat,  sent  them  down  the  stream,  and  then  went 
back  alone  to  defend  his  dwelling.  When  the  In- 
dians appeared,  he  fired  on  them,  sometimes  from 
one  loophole  and  sometimes  from  another,  shout- 
ing the  word  of  command  to  an  imaginary  garrison, 
and  showing  himself  with  a  different  hat,  cap,  or 
coat,  at  different  parts  of  the  building.  The  In- 
dians were  afraid  to  approach,  and  he  saved  both 
family  and  home.  One  Jones,  the  owner  of  an- 
other of  these  fortified  houses,  was  wakened  by  the 
barking  of  his  clogs,  and  went  out,  thinking  that 
his  hog-pen  was  visited  by  wolves.  The  flash  of  a 
gun  in  the  twilight  of  the  morning  showed  the  true 
nature  of  the  attack.  The  shot  missed  him  nar- 
rowly ;  and,  entering  the  house  again,  he  stood  on 
his  defence,  when  the  Indians,  after  firing  for  some 
time  from  behind  a  neighboring  rock,  withdrew 
and  left  him  in  peace.  Woodman's  garrison  house, 
though  occupied  by  a  number  of  men,  was  attacked 
more  seriously,  the  Indians  keeping  up  a  long  and 
brisk  fire  from  behind  a  riclge  where  they  lay 
sheltered ;  but  they  hit  nobody,  and  at  length 
disappeared.1 

Among  the  unprotected  houses,  the  carnage  was 

1  Woodman's  garrison  house  is  still  standing,  having  been  carefully 
preserved  by  his  descendants. 


1694.]  MASSACRE.  367 

horrible.  A  hundred  and  four  persons,  chiefly 
women  and  children  half  naked  from  their  beds, 
were  tomahawked,  shot,  or  killed  by  slower  and 
more  painful  methods.  Some  escaped  to  the  forti- 
fied houses,  and  others  hid  in  the  woods.  Twenty- 
seven  were  kept  alive  as  prisoners.  Twenty  or 
more  houses  were  burned ;  but,  what  is  remark- 
able, the  church  was  spared.  Father  Thury  entered 
it  during  the  massacre,  and  wrote  with  chalk  on 
the  pulpit  some  sentences,  of  which  the  purport  is 
not  preserved,  as  they  were  no  doubt  in  French  or 
Latin. 

Thury  said  mass,  and  then  the  victors  retreated 
in  a  body  to  the  place  where  they  had  hidden  their 
canoes.  Here  Taxous,  dissatisfied  with  the  scalps 
that  he  and  his  band  had  taken,  resolved  to  have 
more  ;  and  with  fifty  of  his  own  warriors,  joined  by 
others  from  the  Kennebec,  set  out  on  a  new  enter- 
prise. "  They  mean,"  writes  Villieu  in  his  diary, 
"  to  divide  into  bands  of  four  or  fi.Ye,  and  knock 
people  in  the  head  by  surprise,  which  cannot  fail 
to  produce  a  good  effect."  1  They  did  in  fact  fall 
a  few  days  after  on  the  settlements  near  Groton, 
and  killed  some  forty  persons. 

Having  heard  from  one  of  the  prisoners  a  rumor 
of  ships  on  the  way  from  England  to  attack  Quebec, 
Villieu  thought  it  necessary  to  inform  Frontenac 
at  once.  Attended  by  a  few  Indians,  he  travelled 
four  days  and  nights,  till  he  found  Bigot  at  an 

1  "  Casser  des  testes  a  la  surprise  apres  s'estre  divises  en  plusieurs 
bandes  de  quatre  au  cinq,  ce  qui  ne  peut  manquer  de  faire  un  bon  effect." 
Villieu,  Relation. 


368  THE   WAR  IN  ACAl5lA.  [1694. 

Abenaki  fort  on  the  Kennebec.  His  Indians  were 
completely  exhausted.  He  took  others  in  their 
place,  pushed  forward  again,  reached  Quebec  on 
the  twenty-second  of  August,  found  that  Fronte- 
nac  had  gone  to  Montreal,  followed  him  thither, 
told  his  story,  and  presented  him  with  thirteen 
English  scalps.1  He  had  displayed  in  the  achieve- 
ment of  his  detestable  exploit  an  energy,  perse- 
verance, and  hardihood  rarely  equalled ;  but  all 
would  have  been  vain  but  for  the  help  of  his 
clerical  colleague  Father  Pierre  Thury.2 

The  Indian  Tribes  of  Acadia. — The  name  Abenaki  is 
generic,  and  of  very  loose  application.  As  employed  by  the  best 
French  writers  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  may  be 
taken  to  include  the  tribes  from  the  Kennebec  eastward  to  the  St. 
John.  These  again  may  be  sub-divided  as  follows.  First,  the 
Canibas  (Kenibas),  or  tribes  of  the  Kennebec  and  adjacent  waters. 
These  with  kindred  neighboring  tribes  on  the   Saco,  the  Andro- 

1  "  Dans  cette  assemblee  M.  de  Villieu  avec  4  sauvages  qu'il  avoit 
amenes  de  l'Accadie  presenta  a  Monsieur  le  Oomte  de  Frontenac  13 
chevelures  angloises."     Callieres  au  Ministre,  19  Oct.,  1694. 

2  The  principal  authority  for  the  above  is  the  very  curious  Relation 
du  Voyage  fait  par  le  Sieur  de  Villieu  .  .  .  pour  /aire  la  Guerre  aux  Anglois 
an  printemps  de  Pan  1694.  It  is  the  narrative  of  Villieu  himself,  written 
in  the  form  of  a  journal,  with  great  detail.  He  also  gives  a  brief  sum- 
mary in  a  letter  to  the  minister,  7  Sept.  The  best  English  account  is  that 
of  Belknap,  in  his  History  of  New  Hampshire.  Cotton  Mather  tells  the  story 
in  his  usual  unsatisfactory  and  ridiculous  manner.  Pike,  in  his  journal, 
says  that  ninety-four  persons  in  all  were  killed  or  taken.  Mather  says, 
"  ninety  four  or  a  hundred."  The  Provincial  Record  of  New  Hampshire 
estimates  it  at  eighty.  Charlevoix  claims  two  hundred  and  thirty,  and 
Villieu  himself  but  a  hundred  and  thirty-one.  Champigny,  Frontenac, 
and  Callieres,  in  their  reports  to  the  court,  adopt  Villieu's  statements. 
Frontenac  says  that  the  success  was  due  to  the  assurances  of  safety 
which  Phips  had  given  the  settlers. 

In  the  Massachusetts  archives  is  a  letter  to  Phips,  written  just  after 
the  attack.  The  devastation  extended  six  or  seven  miles.  There  are 
also  a  number  of  depositions  from  persons  present,  giving  a  horrible 
picture  of  the  cruelties  practised. 


1694.]  INDIAN   TRIBES   OF  ACADIA.  369 

scoggin,  and  the  Sheepscot,  have  been  held  by  some  writers  to  be 
the  Abenakis  proper,  though  some  of  them,  such  as  the  Sokokis  or 
Pequawkets  of  the  Saco,  spoke  a  dialect  distinct  from  the  rest. 
Secondly,  the  tribes  of  the  Penobscot,  called  Tarratines  by  early 
New  England  writers,  who  sometimes,  however,  give  this  name  a 
more  extended  application.  Thirdly,  the  Malicites  (Marechites)  of 
the  St.  Croix  and  the  St.  John.  These,  with  the  Penobscots  or 
Tarratines,  are  the  Etchemins  of  early  French  writers.  All  these 
tribes  speak  dialects  of  Algonquin,  so  nearly  related  that  they  under- 
stand each  other  with  little  difficulty.  That  eminent  Indian  philolo- 
gist, Mr.  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  writes  to  me:  "  The  Malicite, 
the  Penobscot,  and  the  Kennebec,  or  Caniba,  are  dialects  of  the 
same  language,  which  may  as  well  be  called  Abenaki.  The  first 
named  differs  more  considerably  from  the  other  two  than  do  these 
from  each  other.  In  fact  the  Caniba  and  the  Penobscot  are  merely 
provincial  dialects,  with  no  greater  difference  than  is  found  in 
two  English  counties."  The  case  is  widely  different  with  the 
Micmacs,  the  Souriquois  of  the  French,  who  occupy  portions  of 
Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick,  and  who  speak  a  language  which, 
though  of  Algonquin  origin,  differs  as  much  from  the  Abenaki 
dialects  as  Italian  differs  from  French,  and  was  once  described 
to  me  by  a  Malicite  (Passamaquoddy)  Indian  as  an  unintelligible 
jargon. 


21 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

1690-1697. 
NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  Frontier  of  New  England.  —  Border  Warfare.  —  Motives 
of  the  French.  —  Needless  Barbarity.  —  Who  were  answera- 
ble'?—  Father  Thury.  —  The  Abenakis  waver.  —  Treachery 
at  Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Projected  Attack  on 
Boston.  —  Disappointment.  —  Miseries  of  the  Frontier.  —  A 
Captive  Amazon. 

"  This  stroke,"  says  Villebon,  speaking  of  the 
success  at  Oyster  River,  "  is  of  great  advantage, 
because  it  breaks  off  all  the  talk  of  peace  between 
our  Indians  and  the  English.  The  English  are  in 
despair,  for  not  even  infants  in  the  cradle  were 
spared."  * 

I  have  given  the  story  in  detail,  as  showing  the 
origin  and  character  of  the  destructive  raids,  of 
which  New  England  annalists  show  only  the  re- 
sults. The  borders  of  New  England  were  pecu- 
liarly vulnerable.  In  Canada,  the  settlers  built 
their  houses  in  lines,  within  supporting  distance  of 
each  other,  along  the  margin  of  a  river  which  sup- 
plied easy  transportation  for  troops ;  and,  in  time 
of  danger,  they  all  took  refuge  in  forts  under  com- 

1  "  Ce  coup  est  tres-avantageux,  parcequ'il  rompte  tous  les  pour- 
parlers de  paix  entre  nos  sauvages  et  les  Anglois.  Les  Anglois  sont  au 
desespoir  de  ce  qu  lis  ont  tue  jusqu'aux  enfants  au  berceau."  Villebon 
au  Ministre,  19  Sept.,  1(394. 


1690-97.]    THE  FRONTIER  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.      371 

mand  of  the  local  seigniors,  or  of  officers  with 
detachments  of  soldiers.  The  exposed  part  of  the 
French  colony  extended  along  the  St.  Lawrence 
about  ninety  miles.  The  exposed  frontier  of  New 
England  was  between  two  and  three  hundred 
miles  long,  and  consisted  of  farms  and  hamlets, 
loosely  scattered  through  an  almost  impervious 
forest.  Mutual  support  was  difficult  or  impossible. 
A  body  of  Indians  and  Canadians,  approaching 
secretly  and  swiftly,  dividing  into  small  bands,  and 
falling  at  once  upon  the  isolated  houses  of  an  en- 
tensive  district,  could  commit  prodigious  havoc  in 
a  short  time,  and  with  little  danger.  Even  in  so- 
called  villages,  the  houses  were  far  apart,  because, 
except  on  the  sea-shore,  the  people  lived  by  farm- 
ing. Such  as  were  able  to  do  so  fenced  their 
dwellings  with  palisades,  or  built  them  of  solid 
timber,  with  loopholes,  a  projecting  upper  story 
like  a  blockhouse,  and  sometimes  a  flanker  at  one 
or  more  of  the  corners.  In  the  more  considerable 
settlements,  the  largest  of  these  fortified  houses 
was  occupied,  in  time  of  danger,  by  armed  men, 
and  served  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  neighbors. 
The  palisaded  house  defended  by  Convers  at 
Wells  was  of  this  sort,  and  so  also  was  the  Wood- 
man house  at  Oyster  Eiver.  These  were  "  garri- 
son houses,"  properly  so  called,  though  the  name 
was  often  given  to  fortified  dwellings  occupied 
only  by  the  family.  The  French  and  Indian  war- 
parties  commonly  avoided  the  true  garrison  houses, 
and  very  rarely  captured  them,  except  unawares ; 
for  their  tactics  were  essentially  Iroquois,  and  con- 


372      NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.    [1690-97. 

sisted,  for  the  most  part,  in  pouncing  upon  peaceful 
settlers  by  surprise,  and  generally  in  the  night. 
Combatants  and  non-combatants  were  slaughtered 
together.  By  parading  the  number  of  slain,  without 
mentioning  that  most  of  them  were  women  and 
children,  and  by  counting  as  forts  mere  private  houses 
surrounded  with  palisades,  Charlevoix  and  later 
writers  have  given  the  air  of  gallant  exploits  to  acts 
which  deserve  a  very  different  name.  To  attack 
military  posts,  like  Casco  and  Pemaquid,  was  a  le- 
gitimate act  of  war ;  but  systematically  to  butcher 
helpless  farmers  and  their  families  can  hardly  pass 
as  such,  except  from  the  Iroquois  point  of  view. 

The  chief  alleged  motive  for  this  ruthless  war- 
fare was  to  prevent  the  peojDle  of  New  England 
from  invading  Canada,  by  giving  them  employ- 
ment at  home;  though,  in  fact,  they  had  never 
thought  of  invading  Canada  till  after  these  attacks 
began.  But  for  the  intrigues  of  Denonville,  the 
Bigots,  Thury,  and  Saint-Castin,  before  war  was 
declared,  and  the  destruction  of  Salmon  Falls  after 
it,  Phips's  expedition  would  never  have  taken 
place.  By  successful  raids  against  the  borders  of 
New  England,  Frontenac  roused  the  Canadians 
from  their  dejection,  and  prevented  his  red  allies 
from  deserting  him ;  but,  in  so  doing,  he  brought 
upon  himself  an  enemy  who,  as  Charlevoix  himself 
says,  asked  only  to  be  let  alone.  If  there  was  a 
political  necessity  for  butchering  women  and  chil- 
dren on  the  frontier  of  New  England,  it  was  a  ne- 
cessity created  by  the  French  themselves. 

There  was  no  such  necessity.    Massachusetts  was 


1690-97.]  NEEDLESS  BARBARITY.  373 

the  only  one  of  the  New  England  colonies  which 
took  an  aggressive  part  in  the  contest.  Connecti- 
cut did  little  or  nothing.  Rhode  Island  was  non- 
combatant  through  Quaker  influence ;  and  New 
Hampshire  was  too  weak  for  offensive  war.  Massa- 
chusetts was  in  no  condition  to  fight,  nor  was  she 
impelled  to  do  so  by  the  home  government.  Can- 
ada was  organized  for  war,  and  must  fight  at  the 
bidding  of  the  king,  who  made  the  war  and  paid 
for  it.  Massachusetts  was  organized  for  peace  ;  and, 
if  she  chose  an  aggressive  part,  it  was  at  her  own 
risk  and  her  own  cost.  She  had  had  fi editing; 
enough  already  against  infuriated  savages  far  more 
numerous  than  the  Iroquois,  and  poverty  and  po- 
litical revolution  made  peace  a  necessity  to  her. 
If  there  was  danger  of  another  attack  on  Quebec, 
it  was  not  from  New  England,  but  from  Old ;  and 
no  amount  of  frontier  butchery  could  avert  it. 

Nor,  except  their  inveterate  habit  of  poaching 
on  Acadian  fisheries,  had  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land provoked  these  barbarous  attacks.  They 
never  even  attempted  to  retaliate  them,  though 
the  settlements  of  Acadia  offered  a  safe  and  easy 
revenge.  Once,  it  is  true,  they  pillaged  Beau- 
bassin ;  but  they  killed  nobody,  though  countless 
butcheries  in  settlements  yet  more  defenceless  were 
fresh  in  their  memory.1 

1  The  people  of  Beaubassin  had  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  Eng- 
land in  1690,  and  pleaded  it  as  a  reason  for  exemption  from  plunder;  but 
it  appears  by  French  authorities  that  they  had  violated  it  ( Observations 
sur  les  Depeches  touchant  VAcadie,  1695),  and  their  priest  Baudoin  had  led 
a  band  of  Micmacs  to  the  attack  of  Wells  ( Villebon,  Journal).  When  tho 
"  Bostonnais  "  captured  Port  Royal,  they  are  described  by  the  French 
as  excessively  irritated  by  the  recent  slaughter  at  Salmon  Falls,  yet  the 
only  revenge  they  took  was  plundering  some  of  the  inhabitants. 


374      NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.    [1690-97. 

With  New  York,  a  colony  separate  in  govern- 
ment and  widely  sundered  in  local  position,  the 
case  was  different.  Its  rulers  had  instigated  the 
Iroquois  to  attack  Canada,  possibly  before  the  dec- 
laration of  war,  and  certainly  after  it ;  and  they 
had  no  right  to  complain  of  reprisal.  Yet  the 
frontier  of  New  York  was  less  frequently  assailed, 
because  it  was  less  exposed ;  while  that  of  New 
England  was  drenched  in  blood,  because  it  was 
open  to  attack,  because  the  Abenakis  were  conven- 
ient instruments  for  attacking  it,  because  the 
adhesion  of  these  tribes  was  necessary  to  the  main- 
tenance of  French  power  in  Acadia,  and  because 
this  adhesion  could  best  be  secured  by  inciting 
them  to  constant  hostility  against  the  English. 
They  were  not  only  needed  as  the  barrier  of  Can- 
ada against  New  England,  but  the  French  com- 
manders hoped,  by  means  of  their  tomahawks,  to 
drive  the  English  beyond  the  Piscataqua,  and  se- 
cure the  whole  of  Maine  to  the  French  crown. 

Who  were  answerable  for  these  offences  against 
Christianity  and  civilization  ?  First,  the  king ; 
and,  next,  the  governors  and  military  officers  who 
were  charged  with  executing  his  orders,  and  who 
often  executed  them  with  needless  barbarity.  But 
a  far  different  responsibility  rests  on  the  mission- 
ary priests,  who  hounded  their  converts  on  the 
track  of  innocent  blood.  The  Acadian  priests  are 
not  all  open  to  this  charge.  Some  of  them  are 
even  accused  of  being  too  favorable  to  the  English  ; 
while  others  gave  themselves  to  their  proper  work, 
and  neither  abused  their  influence,  nor  perverted 


1690-97.]  FATHER  THURY.  375 

their  teaching  to  political  ends.  The  most  promi- 
nent among  the  apostles  of  carnage,  at  this  time, 
are  the  Jesuit  Bigot  on  the  Kennebec,  and  the 
seminary  priest  Thury  on  the  Penobscot.  There 
is  little  doubt  that  the  latter  instigated  attacks  on 
the  English  frontier  before  the  war,  and  there  is 
conclusive  evidence  that  he  had  a  hand  in  repeated 
forays  after  it  began.  Whether  acting  from  fanat- 
icism, policy,  or  an  odious  compound  of  both,  he 
was  found  so  useful,  that  the  minister  Ponchartrain 
twice  wrote  him  letters  of  commendation,  praising 
him  in  the  same  breath  for  his  care  of  the  souls  of 
the  Indians  and  his  zeal  in  exciting  them  to  war. 
"  There  is  no  better  man,"  says  an  Acadian  official, 
"  to  prompt  the  savages  to  any  enterprise."  1  The 
king  was  begged  to  reward  him  with  money ;  and 
Ponchartrain  wrote  to  the  bishop  of  Quebec  to  in- 
crease his  pay  out  of  the  allowance  furnished  by 
the  government  to  the  Acadian  clergy,  because  he, 
Thury,  had  persuaded  the  Abenakis  to  begin  the 
war  anew.2 


1  Tibierge,  M&moire  sur  VAcadie,  1695. 

2  "  Les  temoignages  qu'on  a  rendu  a  Sa  Majeste  de  l'affection  et  du 
zele  du  S^  de  Thury,  missionaire  chez  les  Canibas  (Abenakis),  pour  son 
service,  et  particulierement  dans  l'engagement  oil  il  a  mis  les  Sauvages 
de  recommencer  la  guerre  contre  les  Anglois,  m'oblige  de  vous  prier  de  luy 
faire  une  plus  forte  part  sur  les  1,500  livres  de  gratification  que  Sa  Maj- 
este accorde  pour  les  ecclesiastiques  de  l'Acadie."  Le  Ministre  a  I'lZvesque 
de  Quebec,  16  Avrit,  1695. 

"  Je  suis  bien  aise  de  me  servir  de  cette  occasion  pour  vous  dire  que 
j'ay  este  informe,  non  seulement  de  vostre  zele  et  de  vostre  application 
pour  vostre  mission,  et  du  progres  qu'elle  fait  pour  l'avancement  de  la 
religion  avec  les  sauvages,  mais  encore  de  vos  soins  pour  les  maintenir 
dans  le  service  de  Sa  Majeste  et  pour  les  encourager  aux  expeditions  de 
guerre."  Le  Ministre  a  Thury,  2'SAvril,  1697.  The  other  letter  to  Thury, 
written  two  years  before,  is  of  the  same  tenor. 


376      NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.   [1690-97. 

The  French  missionaries  are  said  to  have  made 
nse  of  singular  methods  to  excite  their  flocks 
against  the  heretics.  The  Abenaki  chief  Bomaseen, 
when  a  prisoner  at  Boston  in  1696,  declared  that 
they  told  the  Indians  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a 
Frenchman,  and  his  mother,  the  Virgin,  a  French 
lady;  that  the  English  had  murdered  him,  and 
that  the  best  way  to  gain  his  favor  was  to  revenge 
his  death.1 

Whether  or  not  these  articles  of  faith  formed 
a  part  of  the  teachings  of  Thury  and  his  fellow- 
apostles,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  a  recognized 
part  of  their  functions  to  keep  their  converts  in 
hostility  to  the  English,  and  that  their  credit  with 
the  civil  powers  depended  on  their  success  in  doing 
so.  The  same  holds  true  of  the  priests  of  the  mis- 
sion villages  in  Canada.  They  avoided  all  that 
might  impair  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  neophyte, 
and  they  were  well  aware  that  in  savages  the  war- 
like spirit  is  mainly  dependent  on  native  ferocity. 
They  taught  temperance,  conjugal  fidelity,  devotion 
to  the  rites  of  their  religion,  and  submission  to  the 
priest ;  but  they  left  the  savage  a  savage  still.  In 
spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  civil  authorities, 
the  mission  Indian  was  separated  as  far  as  possible 
from  intercourse  with  the  French,  and  discouraged 

1  Mather,  Magnolia,  II.  629.  Compare  Dummer,  Memorial,  1709,  in 
^[a$s.  Hist.  Coll.,  3  Ser.,  I.,  and  the  same  writer's  Letter  to  a  Noble  Lord 
concerning  the  Late  Expedition  to  Canada,  1712.  Dr.  Charles  T.  Jackson, 
the  geologist,  when  engaged  in  the  survey  of  Maine  in  1836,  mentions,  as 
an  example  of  the  simplicity  of  the  Acadians  of  Madawaska,  that  one  of 
them  asked  him  "if  Bethlehem,  where  Christ  was  born,  was  not  a  town 
in  France."  First  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Maine,  72.  Here,  perhaps,  is 
a  tradition  from  early  missionary  teaching. 


1690-97.]  FATHER   THURY.  377 

from  learning  the  French  tongue.  He  wore  a 
crucifix,  hung  wampum  on  the  shrine  of  the  Virgin, 
told  his  beads,  prayed  three  times  a  day,  knelt  for 
hours  before  the  Host,  invoked  the  saints,  and  con- 
fessed to  the  priest ;  but,  with  rare  exceptions,  he 
murdered,  scalped,  and  tortured  like  his  heathen 
countrymen.1 

The  picture  has  another  side,  which  must  not 
pass  unnoticed.  Early  in  the  war,  the  French  of 
Canada  began  the  merciful  practice  of  buying  Eng- 
lish prisoners,  and  especially  children,  from  their 
Indian  allies.     After  the  first  fury  of  attack,  many 

1  The  famous  Ourehaoue,  who  had  been  for  years  under  the  influence 
of  the  priests,  and  who,  as  Charlevoix  says,  died  "  un  vrai  Chretien," 
being  told  on  his  death-bed  how  Christ  was  crucified  by  the  Jews,  ex- 
claimed with  fervor :  "  Ah  !  why  was  not  I  there  1  I  would  have  revenged 
him  :  I  would  have  had  their  scalps."  La  Potherie,  IV.  91.  Charlevoix, 
after  his  fashion  on  such  occasions,  suppresses  the  revenge  and  the  scalp- 
ing, and  instead  makes  the  dying  Christian  say,  "  I  would  have  prevented 
them  from  so  treating  my  God." 

The  savage  custom  of  forcing  prisoners  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and 
sometimes  beating  them  to  death  as  they  did  so,  was  continued  at  two, 
if  not  all,  of  the  mission  villages  down  to  the  end  of  the  French  domina- 
tion. General  Stark  of  the  Revolution,  when  a  young  man,  was 
subjected  to  this  kind  of  torture  at  St.  Francis,  but  saved  himself  by 
snatching  a  club  from  one  of  the  savages,  and  knocking  the  rest  to  the 
right  and  left  as  he  ran.  The  practice  was  common,  and  must  have  had 
the  consent  of  the  priests  of  the  mission. 

At  the  Sulpitian  mission  of  the  Mountain  of  Montreal,  unlike  the 
rest,  the  converts  were  taught  to  speak  French  and  practise  mechanical 
arts.  The  absence  of  such  teaching  in  other  missions  was  the  subject  of 
frequent  complaint,  not  only  from  Frontenac,  but  from  other  officers. 
La  Motte-Cadillac  writes  bitterly  on  the  subject,  and  contrasts  the  con- 
duct of  the  French  priests  with  that  of  the  English  ministers,  who  have 
taught  many  Indians  to  read  and  write,  and  reward  them  for  teaching 
others  in  turn,  which  they  do,  he  says,  with  great  success.  Me'moire  con- 
tenant  une  Description  de'taille'e  de  V 'Accidie,  etc.,  1693.  In  fact,  Eliot  and  his 
co-workers  took  great  pains  in  this  respect.  There  were  at  this  time  thirty 
Indian  churches  in  New  England,  according  to  the  Diary  of  President 
Stiles,  cited  by  Holmes. 


378  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1694. 

lives  were  spared  for  the  sake  of  this  ransom. 
Sometimes,  but  not  always,  the  redeemed  captives 
wrere  made  to  work  for  their  benefactors.  They 
were  uniformly  treated  well,  and  often  with  such 
kindness  that  they  would  not  be  exchanged,  and 
became  Canadians  by  adoption. 

Villebon  was  still  full  of  anxiety  as  to  the  adhe- 
sion of  the  Abenakis.  Thury  saw  the  danger  still 
more  clearly,  and  told  Frontenac  that  their  late 
attack  at  Oyster  River  was  due  more  to  levity  than 
to  any  other  cause  ;  that  they  were  greatly  alarmed, 
wravering,  half  stupefied,  afraid  of  the  English,  and 
distrustful  of  the  French,  whom  they  accused  of 
using  them  as  tools.1  It  was  clear  that  something 
must  be  done ;  and  nothing  could  answer  the  pur- 
pose so  well  as  the  capture  of  Pemaquicl,  that 
English  stronghold  which  held  them  in  constant 
menace,  and  at  the  same  time  tempted  them  by 
offers  of  goods  at  a  low  rate.  To  the  capture  of 
Pemaquicl,  therefore,  the  French  government  turned 
its  thoughts. 

One  Pascho  Chubb,  of  Andover,  commanded 
the  post,  with  a  garrison  of  ninety-five  militia- 
men. Stoughton,  governor  of  Massachusetts,  had 
written  to  the  Abenakis,  upbraiding  them  for 
breaking  the  peace,  and  ordering  them  to  bring  in 
their  prisoners  without  delay.  The  Indians  of 
P>igot's  mission,  that  is  to  say,  Bigot  in  their  name, 
retorted  by  a  letter  to  the  last  degree  haughty  and 
abusive.  Those  of  Thury' s  mission,  however,  were 
so  anxious  to  recover  their  friends  held  in  prison 

1   Thury  a  Frontenac,  11  Sept.,  1694. 


1696.]  PEMAQUID   ATTACKED.  379 

at  Boston  that  they  came  to  Pemaquicl,  and  opened 
a  conference  with  Chubb.  The  French  say  that 
they  meant  only  to  deceive  him.1  This  does  not 
justify  the  Massachusetts  officer,  who,  by  an  act  of 
odious  treachery,  killed  several  of  them,  and  cap- 
tured the  chief,  Egeremet.  Nor  was  this  the  only 
occasion  on  which  the  English  had  acted  in  bad  faith. 
It  was  but  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  who 
saw  with  delight  that  the  folly  of  their  enemies  had 
aided  their  own  intrigues.2 

Early  in  1696,  two  ships  of  war,  the  "  Envieux" 
and  the  "  Profond,"  one  commanded  by  Iberville 
and  the  other  by  Bonaventure,  sailed  from  Koche- 
fort  to  Quebec,  where  they  took  on  board  eighty 
troops  and  Canadians;  then  proceeded  to  Cape 
Breton,  embarked  thirty  Micmac  Indians,  and 
steered  for  the  St.  John.  Here  they  met  two 
British  frigates  and  a  provincial  tender  belonging 
to  Massachusetts.  A  fight  ensued.  The  forces 
were  very  unequal.  The  "  Newport,"  of  twenty- 
four  guns,  was  dismasted  and  taken ;  but  her  com- 
panion frigate  along  with  the  tender  escaped  in  the 
fog.  The  French  then  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  John,  where  Villebon  and  the  priest  Simon  were 
waiting  for  them,  with  fifty  more  Micmacs.  Simon 
and  the  Indians  went  on  board  ;  and  they  all  sailed 
for  Pentegoet,  where  Villieu,  with  twenty-five 
soldiers,  and  Thury  and  Saint- Castin,  with  ssome 

1  Villebon,  Journal,  1694-1606. 

2  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  613,  616,  642,  643  ;  La  Potherie,  III.  258 ;  Cal- 
ieres  au  Ministre,  25  Oct.,  1695 ;  Rev.  John  Pike  to  Governor  and  Council,  7 

Jan.,  1694  (1695),  in  Johnston,  Hist,  of  Bristol  and  Bremen;  Hutchinson, 
Hist.  Mass.,  II.  81,  90. 


380  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1696. 

three  hundred  Abenakis,  were  ready  to  join  them. 
After  the  usual  feasting,  these  new  allies  paddled 
for  Pemaquid ;  the  ships  followed ;  and  on  the 
next  day,  the  fourteenth  of  August,  they  all  reached 
their  destination. 

The  fort  of  Pemaquid  stood  at  the  west  side  of 
the  promontory  of  the  same  name,  on  a  rocky 
point  at  the  mouth  of  Pemaquid  River.  It  was  a 
quadrangle,  with  ramparts  of  rough  stone,  built  at 
great  pains  and  cost,  but  exposed  to  artillery,  and 
incapable  of  resisting  heavy  shot.  The  govern- 
ment of  Massachusetts,  with  its  usual  military 
fatuity,  had  placed  it  in  the  keeping  of  an  unfit 
commander,  and  permitted  some  of  the  yeoman 
garrison  to  bring  their  wives  and  children  to  this 
dangerous  and  important  post. 

Saint-Castin  and  his  Indians  landed  at  New 
Harbor,  half  a  league  from  the  fort.  Troops  and 
cannon  were  sent  ashore  ;  and,  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  Chubb  was  summoned  to  surrender. 
He  replied  that  he  would  fight,  "  even  if  the  sea 
were  covered  with  French  ships  and  the  land  with 
Indians."  The  firing  then  began  ;  and  the  Indian 
marksmen,  favored  by  the  nature  of  the  ground, 
ensconced  themselves  near  the  fort,  well  covered 
from  its  cannon.  During  the  night,  mortars  and 
heavy  ships'  guns  were  landed,  and  by  great  exer- 
tion were  got  into  position,  the  two  priests  working 
lustily  with  the  rest.  They  opened  fire  at  three 
o'clock  on  the  next  day.  Saint-Castin  had  just 
before  sent  Chubb  a  letter,  telling  him  that,  if  the 
garrison  were  obstinate,  they  would  get  no  quarter, 


1690.]  PEMAQUID   TAKEN.  381 

and  would  be  butchered  by  the  Indians.  Close 
upon  this  message  followed  four  or  five  bomb-shells. 
Chubb  succumbed  immediately,  sounded  a  parley, 
and  gave  up  the  fort,  on  condition  that  he  and  his 
men  should  be  protected  from  the  Indians,  sent  to 
Boston,  and  exchanged  for  French  and  Abenaki 
prisoners.  They  all  marched  out  without  arms ; 
and  Iberville,  true  to  his  pledge,  sent  them  to  an 
island  in  the  bay,  beyond  the  reach  of  his  red 
allies.  Villieu  took  possession  of  the  fort,  where 
an  Indian  prisoner  was  found  in  irons,  half  dead 
from  long  confinement.  This  so  enraged  his  coun- 
trymen that  a  massacre  would  infallibly  have  taken 
place  but  for  the  precaution  of  Iberville. 

The  cannon  of  Pemaquid  were  carried  on  board 
the  ships,  and  the  small  arms  and  ammunition 
given  to  the  Indians.  Two  clays  were  spent  in 
destroying  the  works,  and  then  the  victors  with- 
drew in  triumph.  Disgraceful  as  was  the  prompt 
surrender  of  the  fort,  it  may  be  doubted  if,  even 
with  the  best  defence,  it  could  have  held  out 
many  days ;  for  it  had  no  casemates,  and  its  occu- 
pants were  defenceless  against  the  explosion  of 
shells.  Chubb  was  arrested  for  cowardice  on  his 
return,  and  remained  some  months  in  prison.  After 
his  release,  he  returned  to  his  family  at  Andover, 
twenty  miles  from  Boston ;  and  here,  in  the  year 
following,  he  and  his  wife  were  killed  by  Indians, 
who  seem  to  have  pursued  him  to  this  apparently 
safe  asylum  to  take  revenge  for  his  treachery 
toward  their  countrymen.1 

1  Baudoin,   Journal  d'un    Voyage  fait   avec  M.   d'Iberville.     Baudoin 


382  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.    [1696,1697. 

The  people  of  Massachusetts,  compelled  by  a 
royal  order  to  build  and  maintain  Pemaquid,  had 
no  love  for  it,  and  underrated  its  importance.  Hav- 
ing been  accustomed  to  spend  their  money  as  they 
themselves  saw  fit,  they  revolted  at  compulsion, 
though  exercised  for  their  good.  Pemaquid  was 
nevertheless  of  the  utmost  value  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  hold  on  Maine,  and  its  conquest  was  a 
crowning  triumph  to  the  French. 

The  conquerors  now  projected  a  greater  exploit. 
The  Marquis  de  Nesmond,  with  a  powerful  squad- 
ron of  fifteen  ships,  including  some  of  the  best  in 
the  royal  navy,  sailed  for  Newfoundland,  with 
orders  to  defeat  an  English  squadron  supposed  to 
be  there,  and  then  to  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Penobscot,  where  he  was  to  be  joined  by  the  Abe- 
naki warriors  and  fifteen  hundred  troops  from 
Canada.  The  whole  united  force  was  then  to  fall 
upon  Boston.  The  French  had  an  exact  knowledge 
of  the  place.  Meneval,  when  a  prisoner  there, 
lodged  in  the  house  of  John  Nelson,  had  carefully 
examined  it ;  and  so  also  had  the  Chevalier  d'Aux ; 
while  La  Motte-Cadillac  had  reconnoitred  the  town 
and  harbor  before  the  war  began.  An  accurate 
map  of  them  wras  made  for  the  use  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  the  plan  of  operations  was  arranged  with 
great  care.     Twelve  hundred  troops  and  Canadians 

was  an  Acadian  priest,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  which  he  de- 
scribes in  detail.  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe,  etc.,  1(595,  1696  ;  Des  Goutins 
an  Ministre,  23  Sept.,  1696;  Hutchinson,  Hist  Mass.,  11.89;  Mather, 
Magnolia,  II.  633.  A  letter  from  Chubb,  asking  to  be  released  from 
prison,  is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Massachusetts.  I  have  examined 
the  site  of  the  fort,  the  remains  of  which  are  still  distinct. 


1697.]  PROJECTED  ATTACK  ON   BOSTON.  383 

were  to  land  with  artillery  at  Dorchester,  and  march 
at  once  to  force  the  barricade  across  the  neck  of 
the  peninsula  on  which  the  town  stood.  At  the 
same  time,  Saint-Castin  was  to  land  at  Noddle's 
Island,  with  a  troop  of  Canadians  and  all  the  In- 
dians ;  pass  over  in  canoes  to  Charlestown ;  and, 
after  mastering  it,  cross  to  the  north  point  of 
Boston,  which  would  thus  be  attacked  at  both 
ends.  During  these  movements,  two  hundred 
soldiers  were  to  seize  the  battery  on  Castle  Island, 
and  then  land  in  front  of  the  town  near  Long 
Wharf,  under  the  guns  of  the  fleet. 

Boston  had  about  seven  thousand  inhabitants, 
but,  owing  to  the  seafaring  habits  of  the  people, 
many  of  its  best  men  were  generally  absent ;  and, 
in  the  belief  of  the  French,  its  available  force  did 
not  much  exceed  eight  hundred.  "  There  are  no 
soldiers  in  the  place,"  say  the  directions  for  attack, 
"  at  least  there  were  none  last  September,  except 
the  garrison  from  Pemaquid,  who  do  not  deserve 
the  name."  An  easy  victory  was  expected.  After 
Boston  was  taken,  the  land  forces,  French  and  In- 
dian, were  to  march  on  Salem,  and  thence  north- 
ward to  Portsmouth,  conquering  as  they  went; 
while  the  ships  followed  along  the  coast  to  lend  aid, 
when  necessary.  All  captured  places  were  to  be 
completely  destroyed  after  removing  all  valuable 
property.  A  portion  of  this  plunder  was  to  be 
abandoned  to  the  officers  and  men,  in  order  to  en- 
courage them,  and  the  rest  stowed  in  the  ships  for 
transportation  to  France.1 

1  Me'moire  sur  VEntreprise  de  Baston,  pour  M.  le  Marquis  de  Nesmond, 
Versailles,  21  Avril,  1697;  Instruction  a  M.  le  Marquis  de  Nesmond,  mem 


384  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1697. 

Notice  of  the  proposed  expedition  had  reached 
Frontenac  in  the  spring ;  and  he  began  at  once  to 
collect  men,  canoes,  and  supplies  for  the  long  and 
arduous  march  to  the  rendezvous.  He  saw  clearly 
the  uncertainties  of  the  attempt ;  but,  in  spite  of  his 
seventy-seven  years,  he  resolved  to  command  the 
land  force  in  person.  He  was  ready  in  June,  and 
waited  only  to  hear  from  Nesmond.  The  summer 
passed  ;  and  it  was  not  till  September  that  a  ship 
reached  Quebec  with  a  letter  from  the  marquis, 
telling  him  that  head  winds  had  detained  the  fleet 
till  only  fifty  days'  provision  remained,  and  it  was 
too  late  for  action.  The  enterprise  had  completely 
failed,  and  even  at  Newfoundland  nothing  was  ac- 


date ;  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  me  me  date  ;  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac  et  Champigny 
27  Avril,  1697 ;  Le  Ministre  a  Nesmond,  28  Avril,  1697  ;  Ibid.,  15  Juin, 
1697  ;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Oct.,  1697 ;  Carte  de  Baston,  par  le  Sr. 
Franquelin,  1697.  This  is  the  map  made  for  the  use  of  the  expedition. 
A  facsimile  of  it  is  before  me.  The  conquest  of  New  York  had  origi- 
nally formed  part  of  the  plan.  Lagny  au  Ministre,  20  Jan.,  1695.  Even  as 
it  was,  too  much  was  attempted,  and  the  scheme  was  fatally  complicated 
by  the  operations  at  Newfoundland.  Four  years  before,  a  projected  at- 
tack on  Quebec  by  a  British  fleet,  under  Admiral  Wheeler,  had  come  to 
nought  from  analogous  causes. 

The  French  spared  no  pains  to  gain  accurate  information  as  to  the 
strength  of  the  English  settlements.  Among  other  reports  on  this  sub- 
ject there  is  a  curious  Me'moire  sur  Jes  Etablissements  anglois  au  dela  de 
Pemaquid,  jusqu'a  Baston.  It  was  made  just  after  the  capture  of  Pe ma- 
quid,  with  a  view  to  farther  operations.  Saco  is  described  as  a  small 
fort  a  league  above  the  mouth  of  the  river  Saco,  with  four  cannon,  but 
fit  only  to  resist  Indians.  At  Wells,  it  says,  all  the  settlers  have  sought 
refuge  in  four  petits  forts,  of  which  the  largest  holds  perhaps  20  men, 
besides  women  and  children.  At  York,  all  the  people  have  gathered  into 
one  fort,  where  there  are  about  40  men.  At  Portsmouth  there  is  a  fort, 
of  slight  account,  and  about  a  hundred  houses.  This  neighborhood,  no 
doubt  including  Kittery,  can  furnish  at  most  about  300  men.  At  the 
Isles  of  Shoals  there  are  some  280  fishermen,  who  are  absent,  except  on 
Sundays.  In  the  same  manner,  estimates  are  made  for  every  village  and 
district  as  far  as  Boston. 


1697.]  DISAPPOINTMENT.  385 

complishecl.  It  proved  a  positive  advantage  to 
New  England,  since  a  host  of  Indians,  who  would 
otherwise  have  been  turned  loose  upon  the  borders, 
were  gathered  by  Saint-Castin  at  the  Penobscot  to 
wait  for  the  fleet,  and  kept  there  idle  all  summer. 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  farther  on  the  war  in 
Acadia.  There  were  petty  combats  by  land  and 
sea ;  Villieu  was  captured  and  carried  to  Boston  ; 
a  band  of  New  England  rustics  made  a  futile  at- 
tempt to  dislodge  Villebon  from  his  fort  at  Nax- 
ouat ;  while,  throughout  the  contest,  rivalry  and 
jealousy  rankled  among  the  French  officials,  who 
continually  maligned  each  other  in  tell-tale  letters 
to  the  court.  Their  hope  that  the  Abenakis  would 
force  back  the  English  boundary  to  the  Piscataqua 
was  never  fulfilled.  At  Kittery,  at  Wells,  and 
even  among  the  ashes  of  York,  the  stubborn 
settlers  held  their  ground,  while  war-parties  prowled 
along  the  whole  frontier,  from  the  Kennebec  to 
the  Connecticut.  A  single  incident  will  show  the 
nature  of  the  situation,  and  the  qualities  which  it 
sometimes  called  forth. 

Early  in  the  spring  that  followed  the  capture  of 
Pemaquid,  a  band  of  Indians  fell,  after  daybreak, 
on  a  number  of  farm-houses  near  the  village  of 
Haverhill.  One  of  them  belonged  to  a  settler 
named  Dustan,  whose  wife  Hannah  had  borne  a 
child  a  week  before,  and  lay  in  the  house,  nursed 
by  Mary  Neff,  one  of  her  neighbors.  Dustan  had 
gone  to  his  work  in  a  neighboring  field,  taking  with 
him  his  seven  children,  of  whom  the  youngest  was 
two  years  old.     Hearing  the  noise  of  the  attack, 

25 


386  NEW  FRANCE   AND  NEW   ENGLAND.  [1697. 

he  told  them  to  run  to  the  nearest  fortified  house, 
a  mile  or  more  distant,  and,  snatching  up  his  gun, 
threw  himself  on  one  of  his  horses  and  galloped 
towards  his  own  house  to  save  his  wife.  It  was 
too  late  :  the  Indians  were  already  there.  He  now 
thought  only  of  saving  his  children ;  and,  keeping 
behind  them  as  they  ran,  he  fired  on  the  pursuing 
savages,  and  held  them  at  bay  till  he  and  his  flock 
reached  a  place  of  safety.  Meanwhile,  the  house 
was  set  on  fire,  and  his  wife  and  the  nurse  carried 
off.  Her  husband,  no  doubt,  had  given  her  up  as 
lost,  when,  weeks  after,  she*  reappeared,  accom- 
panied by  Mary  Neff  and  a  boy,  and  bringing  ten 
Indian  scalps.  Her  story  was  to  the  following 
effect. 

The  Indians  had  killed  the  new-born  child  by 
dashing  it  against  a  tree,  after  which  the  mother 
and  the  nurse  were  dragged  into  the  forest,  where 
they  found  a  number  of  friends  and  neighbors, 
their  fellows  in  misery.  Some  of  these  were  pres- 
ently tomahawked,  and  the  rest  divided  among 
their  captors.  Hannah  Dustan  and  the  nurse  fell 
to  the  share  of  a  family  consisting  of  two  warriors, 
three  squaws,  and  seven  children,  who  separated 
from  the  rest,  and,  hunting  as  they  went,  moved 
northward  towards  an  Abenaki  village,  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  distant,  probably  that  of  the 
mission  on  the  Chaudiere.  Every  morning,  noon, 
and  evening,  they  told  their  beads,  and  repeated 
their  prayers.  An  English  boy,  captured  at  Wor- 
cester, was  also  of  the  party.  After  a  while,  the 
Indians  began  to  amuse  themselves  by  telling  the 


1697.]  A   CAPTIVE   AMAZON.  387 

women  that,  when  they  reached  the  village,  they 
would  be  stripped,  made  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and 
severely  beaten,  according  to  custom. 

Hannah  Dustan  now  resolved  on  a  desperate 
effort  to  escape,  and  Mary  Neff  and  the  boy  agreed 
to  join  in  it.  They  were  in  the  depths  of  the  forest, 
half  way  on  their  journey,  and  the  Indians,  who 
had  no  distrust  of  them,  were  all  asleep  about  their 
camp  fire,  when,  late  in  the  night,  the  two  women 
and  the  boy  took  each  a  hatchet,  and  crouched 
silently  by  the  bare  heads  of  the  unconscious 
savages.  Then  they*  all  struck  at  once,  with  blows 
so  rapid  and  true  that  ten  of  the  twelve  were  killed 
before  they  were  well  awake.  One  old  squaw 
sprang  up  wounded,  and  ran  screeching  into  the 
forest,  followed  by  a  small  boy  whom  they  had 
purposely  left  unharmed.  Hannah  Dustan  and 
her  companions  watched  by  the  corpses  till  day- 
light ;  then  the  Amazon  scalped  them  all,  and  the 
three  made  their  way  back  to  the  settlements,  with 
the  trophies  of  their  exploit.1 

1  This  story  is  told  by  Mather,  who  had  it  from  the  women  them- 
selves, and  by  Niles,  Hutchinson,  and  others.  An  entry  in  the  contem- 
porary journal  of  Rev.  John  Pike  fully  confirms  it.  The  facts  were 
notorious  at  the  time.  Hannah  Dustan  and  her  companions  received  a 
bounty  of  £50  for  their  ten  scalps ;  and  the  governor  of  Maryland,  hear- 
ing of  what  they  had  done,  sent  them  a  present. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1693-1697. 
FKENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY. 

Le  Motne  d'Iberville. —  His  Exploits  in  Newfoundland. — In 
Hudson's  Bay.  —  The  Great  Prize.  —  The  Competitors. — Fatal 
Policy  op  the  King.  —  The  Iroquois  Question.  —  Negotiation. 
—  Firmness  of  Frontenac.  —  English  Intervention.  —  War  re- 
newed. —  State  of  the  West.  —  Indian  Diplomacy.  —  Cruel 
Measures. — A  Perilous  Crisis.  —  Audacity  of  Frontenac. 

No  Canadian,  under  the  French  rule,  stands  in  a 
more  conspicuous  or  more  deserved  eminence  than 
Pierre  Le  Moyne  d'Iberville.  In  the  seventeenth 
century,  most  of  those  who  acted  a  prominent  part 
in  the  colony  were  born  in  Old  France ;  but  Iber- 
ville was  a  true  son  of  the  soil.  He  and  his  brothers, 
Longueuil,  Serigny,  Assigny,  Maricourt,  Sainte- 
Helene,  the  two  Chateauguays,  and  the  two  Bien- 
villes,  were,  one  and  all,  children  worthy  of  their 
father,  Charles  Le  Moyne  of  Montreal,  and  favora- 
ble types  of  that  Canadian  noblesse,  to  whose 
adventurous  hardihood  half  the  continent  bears 
witness.  Iberville  was  trained  in  the  French  navy, 
and  was  already  among  its  most  able  commanders. 
The  capture  of  Pemaquid  was,  for  him,  but  the 
beginning  of  greater  things ;  and,  though  the  ex- 
ploits that  followed  were  outside  the  main  theatre 


1696.]  IBERVILLE  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND.  389 

of  action,  they  were  too  remarkable  to  be  passed 
in  silence. 

The  French  had  but  one  post  of  any  consequence 
on  the  Island  of  Newfoundland,  the  fort  and  vil- 
lage at  Placentia  Bay ;  while  the  English  fisher- 
men had  formed  a  line  of  settlements  two  or  three 
hundred  miles  along  the  eastern  coast.  Iberville 
had  represented  to  the  court  the  necessity  of  check- 
ing their  growth,  and  to  that  end  a  plan  was  set- 
tled, in  connection  with  the  expedition  against 
Pemaquid.  The  ships  of  the  king  were  to  trans- 
port the  men ;  while  Iberville  and  others  associated 
with  him  were  to  pay  them,  and  divide  the  plun- 
der as  their  compensation.  The  chronicles  of  the 
time  show  various  similar  bargains  between  the 
great  king  and  his  subjects. 

Pemaquid  was  no  sooner  destroyed,  than  Iber- 
ville sailed  for  Newfoundland,  with  the  eighty 
men  he  had  taken  at  Quebec ;  and,  on  arriving,  he 
was  joined  by  as  many  more,  sent  him  from  the 
same  place.  He  found  Brouillan,  governor  of 
Placentia,  with  a  squadron  formed  largely  of  priva- 
teers from  St.  Malo,  engaged  in  a  vain  attempt  to 
seize  St.  John,  the  chief  post  of  the  English. 
Brouillan  was  a  man  of  harsh,  jealous,  and  imprac- 
ticable temper ;  and  it  was  with  the  utmost  diffi- 
culty that  he  and  Iberville  could  act  in  concert. 
They  came  at  last  to  an  agreement,  made  a  com- 
bined attack  on  St.  John,  took  it,  and  burned  it  to 
the  ground.  Then  followed  a  new  dispute  about 
the  division  of  the  spoils.  At  length  it  was  settled. 
Brouillan  went  back  to  Placentia,  and  Iberville  and 
his  men  were  left  to  pursue  their  conquests  alone. 


390  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.  [1697. 

There  were  no  British  soldiers  on  the  island. 
The  settlers  were  rude  fishermen  without  com- 
manders, and,  according  to  the  French  accounts, 
without  religion  or  morals.  In  fact,  they  are  de- 
scribed as  "  worse  than  Indians."  Iberville  now 
had  with  him  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  soldiers 
and  Canadians,  besides  a  few  Abenakis  from  Aca- 
dia.1 It  was  mid- winter  when  he  began  his  march. 
For  two  months  he  led  his  hardy  band  through 
frost  and  snow,  from  hamlet  to  hamlet,  along  those 
forlorn  and  desolate  coasts,  attacking  each  in  turn 
and  carrying  havoc  everywhere.  Nothing  could 
exceed  the  hardships  of  the  way,  or  the  vigor  with 
which  they  were  met  and  conquered.  The  chap- 
lain Baudoin  gives  an  example  of  them  in  his 
diary.  "January  18th.  The  roads  are  so  bad 
that  we  can  find  only  twelve  men  strong  enough 
to  beat  the  path.  Our  snow-shoes  break  on  the 
crust,  and  against  the  rocks  and  fallen  trees  hidden 
under  the  snow,  which  catch  and  trip  us ;  but,  for 
all  that,  we  cannot  help  laughing  to  see  now  one, 
and  now  another,  fall  headlong.  The  Sieur  de 
Martigny  fell  into  a  river,  and  left  his  gun  and  his 
sword  there  to  save  his  life." 

A  panic  seized  the  settlers,  many  of  whom  were 
without  arms  as  well  as  without  leaders.  They 
imagined  the  Canadians  to  be  savages,  who  scalped 
and  butchered  like  the  Iroquois.  Their  resistance 
was  feeble  and  incoherent,  and  Iberville  carried  all 
before  him.    Every  hamlet  was  pillaged  and  burned  ; 

1  The  reinforcement  sent  him  from  Quehec  consisted  of  fifty  soldiers, 
thirty  Canadians,  and  three  officers.    Frontenac  au  Ministre,  28  Oct.,  1696 


1697.]  IBERVILLE   IN  NEWFOUNDLAND.  391 

and,  according  to  the  incredible  report  of  the 
French  writers,  two  hundred  persons  were  killed 
and  seven  hundred  captured,  though  it  is  admitted 
that  most  of  the  prisoners  escaped.  When  spring 
opened,  all  the  English  settlements  were  destroyed, 
except  the  post  of  Bonavista  and  the  Island  of  Car- 
bonniere,  a  natural  fortress  in  the  sea.  Iberville 
returned  to  Placentia,  to  prepare  for  completing 
his  conquest,  when  his  plans  were  broken  by  the 
arrival  of  his  brother  Serigny,  with  orders  to  pro- 
ceed at  once  against  the  English  at  Hudson's  Bay.1 
It  was  the  nineteenth  of  May,  when  Serigny 
appeared  with  five  ships  of  war,  the  "Pelican,"  the 
"Palmier,"  the  "Wesp,"  the  "Profond,"  and  the 
"Violent."  The  important  trading-post  of  Fort 
Nelson,  called  Fort  Bourbon  by  the  French,  was 
the  destined  object  of  attack.  Iberville  and  Se- 
rigny had  captured  it  three  years  before,  but  the 
English  had  retaken  it  during  the  past  summer, 
and,  as  it  commanded  the  fur-trade  of  a  vast  inte- 

1  On  the  Newfoundland  expedition,  the  best  authority  is  the  long 
diary  of  the  chaplain  Baudoin,  Journal  du  Voyage  que  j'ai  fait  avec  M. 
(T  Iberville ;  also,  Memoire  sur  V  Entre prise  cle  Terreneuve,  1696.  Compare 
La  Potherie,  I.  24-52.  A  deposition  of  one  Phillips,  one  Roberts,  and  sev- 
eral others,  preserved  in  the  Public  Record  Office  of  London,  and  quoted 
by  Brown  in  his  History  of  Cape  Breton,  makes  the  French  force  much 
greater  than  the  statements  of  the  French  writers.  The  deposition  also 
says  that  at  the  attack  of  St.  John's  "the  French  took  one  William 
Brew,  an  inhabitant,  a  prisoner,  and  cut  all  round  his  scalp,  and  then, 
by  strength  of  hands,  stript  his  skin  from  the  forehead  to  the  crown,  and 
so  sent  him  into  the  fortifications,  assuring  the  inhabitants  that  they 
would  serve  them  all  in  like  manner  if  they  did  not  surrender." 

St.  John's  was  soon  after  reoccupied  by  the  English. 

Baudoin  was  one  of  those  Acadian  priests  who  are  praised  for  ser- 
vices "  en  empeschant  les  sauvages  de  faire  la  paix  avec  les  Anglois, 
ayant  mesme  este  en  guerre  avec  eux."  Champigny  au  Ministre,  24  Oct., 
1694. 


392  FRENCH  AND   ENGLISH  RIVALRY.  [1697. 

rior  region,  a  strong  effort  was  now  to  be  made  for 
its  recovery.  Iberville  took  command  of  the  "  Peli- 
can," and  his  brother  of  the  "  Palmier."  They 
sailed  from  Placentia  early  in  July,  followed  by 
two  other  ships  of  the  squadron,  and  a  vessel  car- 
rying stores.  Before  the  end  of  the  month  they 
entered  the  bay,  where  they  were  soon  caught 
among  masses  of  floating  ice.  The  store-ship  was 
crushed  and  lost,  and  the  rest  were  in  extreme 
danger.  The  "  Pelican  "  at  last  extricated  herself, 
and  sailed  into  the  open  sea ;  but  her  three  consorts 
were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  Iberville  steered  for 
Fort  Nelson,  which  was  several  hundred  miles  dis- 
tant, on  the  western  shore  of  this  dismal  inland  sea. 
He  had  nearly  reached  it,  when  three  sail  hove  in 
sight ;  and  he  did  not  doubt  that  they  were  his 
missing  ships.  They  proved,  however,  to  be  Eng- 
lish armed  merchantmen :  the  "  Hampshire  "  of 
fifty-two  guns,  and  the  "  Daring  "  and  the  "  Hud- 
son's Bay "  of  thirty-six  and  thirty-two.  The 
"  Pelican "  carried  but  forty-four,  and  she  was 
alone.  A  desperate  battle  followed,  and  from  half 
past  nine  to  one  o'clock  the  cannonade  was  inces- 
sant. Iberville  kept  the  advantage  of  the  wind, 
and,  coming  at  length  to  close  quarters  with  the 
"  Hampshire,"  gave  her  repeated  broadsides  be- 
tween wind  and  water,  with  such  effect  that  she 
sank  with  all  on  board.  He  next  closed  with  the 
"  Hudson's  Bay,"  which  soon  struck  her  flag ;  while 
the  u  Daring  "  made  sail,  and  escaped.  The  "  Pel- 
ican "  was  badly  damaged  in  hull,  masts,  and  rig- 
ging ;  and   the  increasing  fury  of  a  gale  from  the 


1697.]  CAPTURE   OF  FORT  NELSON.  393 

east  made  her  position  more  critical  every  hour. 
She  anchored,  to  escape  being  driven  ashore ;  but 
the  cables  parted,  and  she  was  stranded  about  two 
leagues  from  the  fort.  Here,  racked  by  the  waves 
and  the  tide,  she  split  amidships ;  but  most  of  the 
crew  reached  land  with  their  weapons  and  ammu- 
nition. The  northern  winter  had  already  begun, 
and  the  snow  lay  a  foot  deep  in  the  forest.  Some 
of  them  died  from  cold  and  exhaustion,  and  the 
rest  built  huts  and  kindled  fires  to  warm  and  dry 
themselves.  Food  was  so  scarce  that  their  only 
hope  of  escape  from  famishing  seemed  to  lie  in 
a  desperate  effort  to  carry  the  fort  by  storm,  but 
now  fortune  interposed.  The  three  ships  they  had 
left  behind  in  the  ice  arrived  with  all  the  needed 
succors.  Men,  cannon,  and  mortars  were  sent 
ashore,  and  the  attack  began. 

Fort  Nelson  was  a  palisade  work,  garrisoned  by 
traders  and  other  civilians  in  the  employ  of  the 
English  fur  company,  and  commanded  by  one  of 
its  agents,  named  Bailey.  Though  it  had  a  con- 
siderable number  of  small  cannon,  it  was  incapable 
of  defence  against  any  thing  but  musketry ;  and 
the  French  bombs  soon  made  it  untenable.  After 
being  three  times  summoned,  Bailey  lowered  his 
flag,  though  not  till  he  had  obtained  honorable 
terms ;  and  he  and  his  men  marched  out  with  arms 
and  baggage,  drums  beating  and  colors  flying. 

Iberville  had  triumphed  over  the  storms,  the 
icebergs,  and  the  English.  The  north  had  seen 
his  prowess,  and  another  fame  awaited  him  in  the 
regions  of  the  sun ;  for  he  became   the  father  of 


394       FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.     [1693-97. 

Louisiana,  and  his  brother  Bienville  founded  New 
Orleans.1 

These  northern  conflicts  were  but  episodes.  In 
Hudson's  Bay,  Newfoundland,  and  Acadia,  the 
issues  of  the  war  were  unimportant,  compared  with 
the  momentous  question  whether  France  or  Eng- 
land should  be  mistress  of  the  west ;  that  is  to  say, 
of  the  whole  interior  of  the  continent.  There  was 
a  strange  contrast  in  the  attitude  of  the  rival 
colonies  towards  this  supreme  prize  :  the  one  was 
inert,  and  seemingly  indifferent ;  the  other,  intensely 
active.  The  reason  is  obvious  enough.  The  En^- 
lish  colonies  were  separate,  jealous  of  the  crown 
and  of  each  other,  and  incapable  as  yet  of  acting 
in  concert.  Living  by  agriculture  and  trade,  they 
could  prosper  within  limited  areas,  and  had  no  pres- 
ent need  of  spreading  beyond  the  Alleghanies. 
Each  of  them  was  an  aggregate  of  persons,  busied 
with  their  own  affairs,  and  giving  little  heed  to 
matters  which  did  not  immediately  concern  them. 
Their  rulers,  whether  chosen  by  themselves  or  ap- 
pointed in  England,  could  not  compel  them  to 
become  the  instruments  of  enterprises  in  which 
the  sacrifice  was  present,  and  the  advantage  re- 
mote. The  neglect  in  which  the  English  court 
left  them,  though  wholesome  in  most  respects, 
made  them  unfit  for  aggressive  action  ;  for  they 
had  neither  troops,  commanders,  political  union, 
military    organization,    nor    military   habits.      In 

1  On  the  capture  of  Eort  Nelson,  Iberville  au  Ministre,  8  Nov.,  1697  ; 
Jeremie,  Relation  de  la  Baye  de  Hudson;  La  Potherie,  I.  85-109.  All 
these  writers  were  present  at  the  attack. 


1695-97.]  THE   RIVAL   COLONIES.  395 

communities  so  busy,  and  governments  so  popular, 
much  could  not  be  clone,  in  war,  till  the  people  were 
roused  to  the  necessity  of  doing  it ;  and  that 
awakening  was  still  far  distant.  Even  New  York, 
the  only  exposed  colony,  except  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire,  regarded  the  war  merely  as  a 
nuisance  to  be  held  at  arm's  length.1 

In  Canada,  all  was  different.  Living  by  the 
fur  trade,  she  needed  free  range  and  indefinite 
space.  Her  geographical  position  determined  the 
nature  of  her  pursuits  ;  and  her  pursuits  developed 
the  roving  and  adventurous  character  of  her  people, 
who,  living  under  a  military  rule,  could  be  directed 
at  will  to  such  ends  as  their  rulers  saw  fit.  The 
grand  French  scheme  of  territorial  extension  was 
not  born  at  court,  but  sprang  from  Canadian  soil, 
and  was  developed  by  the  chiefs  of  the  colony,  who, 
being  on  the  ground,  saw  the  possibilities  and  re- 
quirements of  the  situation,  and  generally  had  a 
personal  interest  in  realizing  them.  The  rival 
colonies  had  two  different  laws  of  growth.  The 
one  increased  by  slow  extension,  rooting  firmly  as 
it  spread ;  the  other  shot  offshoots,  with  few  or  no 
roots,  far  out  into  the  wilderness.  It  was  the 
nature  of  French  colonization  to  seize  upon  de- 
tached strategic  points,  and  hold  them  by  the 
bayonet,  forming  no  agricultural  basis,  but  attract- 
ing the  Indians  by  trade,  and  holding  them  by 
conversion.  A  musket,  a  rosary,  and  a  pack  of 
beaver  skins  may  serve  to  represent  it,  and  in  fact 
it  consisted  of  little  else. 

1  See  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 


396  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.  [1693-97. 

Whence  came  the  numerical  weakness  of  New 
France,  and  the  real  though  latent  strength  of  her 
rivals  ?  Because,  it  is  answered,  the  French  were 
not  an  emigrating  people  ;  but,  at  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  this  was  only  half  true.  The 
French  people  were  divided  into  two  parts,  one 
eager  to  emigrate,  and  the  other  reluctant.  The 
one  consisted  of  the  persecuted  Huguenots,  the 
other  of  the  favored  Catholics.  The  government 
chose  to  construct  its  colonies,  not  of  those  who 
wished  to  go,  but  of  those  who  wished  to  stay  at 
home.  From  the  hour  when  the  edict  of  Nantes 
was  revoked,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Frenchmen 
would  have  hailed  as  a  boon  the  permission  to 
transport  themselves,  their  families,  and  their  prop- 
erty to  the  New  World.  The  permission  was  fiercely 
refused,  and  the  persecuted  sect  was  denied  even 
a  refuge  in  the  wilderness.  Had  it  been  granted 
them,  the  valleys  of  the  west  would  have  swarmed 
with  a  laborious  and  virtuous  population,  trained 
in  adversity,  and  possessing  the  essential  qualities 
of  self-government.  Another  France  would  have 
grown  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  strong  with  the 
same  kind  of  strength  that  made  the  future  great- 
ness of  the  British  colonies.  British  America  was 
an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  and  the  suffering  of 
all  creeds  and  nations,  and  population  poured  into 
her  by  the  force  of  a  natural  tendency.  France, 
like  England,  might  have  been  great  in  two  hemi- 
spheres, if  she  had  placed  herself  in  accord  with 
this  tendency,  instead  of  opposing  it ;  but  despot- 
ism was  consistent  with  itself,  and  a  mighty  oppor- 
tunity was  for  ever  lost. 


1693-97.]  THE  IROQUOIS   QUESTION.  397 

As  soon  could  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin  as 
the  priest-ridden  king  change  his  fatal  policy  of 
exclusion.  Canada  must  be  bound  to  the  papacy, 
even  if  it  blasted  her.  The  contest  for  the  west 
must  be  waged  by  the  means  which  Bourbon  policy 
ordained,  and  which,  it  must  be  admitted,  had 
some  great  advantages  of  their  own,  when  con- 
trolled by  a  man  like  Frontenac.  The  result  hung, 
for  the  present,  on  the  relations  of  the  French  with 
the  Iroquois  and  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  the  Illi- 
nois, and  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  but,  above  all,  on 
their  relations  with  the  Iroquois ;  for,  could  they 
be  conquered  or  won  over,  it  would  be  easy  to 
deal  with  the  rest. 

Frontenac  was  meditating  a  grand  effort  to  in- 
flict such  castigation  as  would  bring  them  to  reason, 
when  one  of  their  chiefs,  named.  Tareha,  came  to 
Quebec  with  overtures  of  peace.  The  Iroquois 
had  lost  many  of  their  best  warriors.  The  arrival 
of  troops  from  France  had  discouraged  them ;  the 
war  had  interrupted  their  hunting  ;  and,  having 
no  furs  to  barter  with  the  English,  they  were  in 
want  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  all  the  necessaries 
of  life.  Moreover,  Father  Milet,  nominally  a 
prisoner  among  them,  but  really  an  adopted  chief, 
had  used  all  his  influence  to  bring  about  a  peace ; 
and  the  mission  of  Tareha  was  the  result.  Fron- 
tenac received  him  kindly.  "  My  Iroquois  children 
have  been  drunk ;  but  I  will  give  them  an  opportunity 
to  repent.  Let  each  of  your  five  nations  send  me 
two  deputies,  and  I  will  listen  to  what  they  have 
to  say."     They  would  not  come,  but  sent  him  in- 


398  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.  [1694. 

stead  an  invitation  to  meet  them  and  their  friends, 
the  English,  in  a  general  council  at  Albany ;  a 
proposal  which  he  rejected  with  contempt.  Then 
they  sent  another  deputation,  partly  to  him  and 
partly  to  their  Christian  countrymen  of  the  Saut 
and  the  Mountain,  inviting  all  alike  to  come  and 
treat  with  them  at  Onondaga.  Frontenac,  adopt- 
ing the  Indian  fashion,  kicked  away  their  wampum 
belts,  rebuked  them  for  tampering  with  the  mission 
Indians,  and  told  them  that  they  were  rebels,  bribed 
by  the  English  ;  adding  that,  if  a  suitable  deputa- 
tion should  be  sent  to  Quebec  to  treat  squarely  of 
peace,  he  still  would  listen,  but  that,  if  they  came 
back  with  any  more  such  proposals  as  they  had 
just  made,  they  should  be  roasted  alive. 

A  few  weeks  later,  the  deputation  appeared.  It 
consisted  of  two  chiefs  of  each  nation,  headed  by 
the  renowned  orator  Decanisora,  or,  as  the  French 
wrote  the  name,  Tegannisorens.  The  council  was 
held  in  the  hall  of  the  supreme  council  at  Quebec. 
The  dignitaries  of  the  colony  were  present,  with 
priests,  Jesuits,  Recollets,  officers,  and  the  Christian 
chiefs  of  the  Saut  and  the  Mountain.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  ambassadors  bespoke  their  destitute 
plight ;  for  they  were  all  dressed  in  shabby  deer- 
skins and  old  blankets,  except  Decanisora,  who  was 
attired  in  a  scarlet  coat  laced  with  gold,  given  him 
by  the  governor  of  New  York.  Colclen,  who  knew 
him  in  his  old  age,  describes  him  as  a  tall,  well- 
formed  man,  with  a  face  not  unlike  the  busts  of 
Cicero.  "  He  spoke,"  says  the  French  reporter, 
u  with  as  perfect  a  grace  as  is  vouchsafed  to  an 


1694.]  DEMANDS   OF   FRONTENAC.  399 

uncivilized  people ;  "  buried  the  hatchet,  covered 
the  blood  that  had  been  spilled,  opened  the  roads, 
and  cleared  the  clouds  from  the  sun.  In  other 
words,  he  offered  peace ;  but  he  demanded  at  the 
same  time  that  it  should  include  the  English. 
Frontenac  replied,  in  substance :  "  My  children 
are  right  to  come  submissive  and  repentant.  I  am 
ready  to  forgive  the  past,  and  hang  up  the  hatchet ; 
but  the  peace  must  include  all  my  other  children, 
far  and  near.  Shut  your  ears  to  English  poison. 
The  war  with  the  English  has  nothing  to  clo 
with  you,  and  only  the  great  kings  across  the 
sea  have  power  to  stop  it.  You  must  give  up 
all  your  prisoners,  both  French  and  Indian,  with- 
out one  exception.  I  will  then  return  mine,  and 
make  peace  with  you,  but  not  before."  He  then 
entertained  them  at  his  own  table,  gave  them  a 
feast  described  as  "  magnificent,"  and  bestowed 
gifts  so  liberally,  that  the  tattered  ambassadors 
went  home  in  embroidered  coats,  laced  shirts,  and 
plumed  hats.  They  were  pledged  to  return  with 
the  prisoners  before  the  end  of  the  season,  and 
they  left  two  hostages  as  security.1 

Meanwhile,  the  authorities  of  New  York  tried  to 
prevent  the  threatened  peace.  First,  Major  Peter 
Schuyler  convoked  the  chiefs  at  Albany,  and  told 
them  that,  if  they  went  to  ask  peace  in  Canada,  they 
would  be  slaves  for  ever.  The  Iroquois  declared 
that  they   loved   the    English,  but  they  repelled 

1  On  these  negotiations,  and  their  antecedents,  Callieres,  Relation  de  ce 
qui  s' est  passe  de  plus  remarquable  en  Canada  depuis  Sept.,  1692,  jusqn'au 
Dtpart  des  Vaisseaux  en  1693  ;  La  Motte-Cadillac,  Me'moire  des  Negotiations 
avecles  Iroquois,  1694;  Callieres  au  Ministre,  19  Oct.,  1694;  La  Potherie, 
III.  200-220 ;  Colden,  Five  Nations,  chap.  x. ;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.  85. 


400  FRENCH   AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.  [1694 

every  attempt  to  control  their  action.  Then 
Fletcher,  the  governor,  called  a  general  council 
at  the  same  place,  and  told  them  that  they  should 
not  hold  councils  with  the  French,  or  that,  if  they 
did  so,  they  should  hold  them  at  Albany  in  pres- 
ence of  the  English.  Again  they  asserted  their 
rights  as  an  independent  people.  "  Corlaer,"  said 
their  speaker,  "  has  held  councils  with  our  enemies, 
and  why  should  not  we  hold  councils  with  his  ?  " 
Yet  they  were  strong  in  assurances  of  friendship, 
and  declared  themselves  "  one  head,  one  heart,  one 
blood,  and  one  soul,  with  the  English."  Their 
speaker  continued  :  "  Our  only  reason  for  sending 
deputies  to  the  French  is  that  we  are  brought  so 
low,  and  none  of  our  neighbors  help  us,  but  leave 
us  to  bear  all  the  burden  of  the  war.  Our  brothers 
of  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia,  all  of  their  own  accord  took  hold  of  the 
covenant  chain,  and  called  themselves  our  allies ; 
but  they  have  done  nothing  to  help  us,  and  we 
cannot  fight  the  French  alone,  because  they  are 
always  receiving  soldiers  from  beyond  the  Great 
Lake.  Speak  from  your  heart,  brother :  will  you 
and  your  neighbors  join  with  us,  and  make  strong 
war  against  the  French  ?  If  you  will,  we  will  break 
off  all  treaties,  and  fight  them  as  hotly  as  ever ;  but, 
if  you  will  not  help  us,  we  must  make  peace." 

Nothing  could  be  more  just  than  these  reproaches ; 
and,  if  the  English  governor  had  answered  by  a 
vigorous  attack  on  the  French  forts  south  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  the  Iroquois  warriors  would  have 
raised   the  hatchet  again  with  one  accord.     But 


1694-96.]  ENGLISH  WEAKNESS.  401 

Fletcher  was  busy  with  other  matters ;  and  he  had 
besides  no  force  at  his  disposal  but  four  companies, 
the  only  British  regulars  on  the  continent,  defec- 
tive in  numbers,  ill-appointed,  and  mutinous.1 
Therefore  he  answered  not  with  acts,  but  with 
words.  The  negotiation  with  the  French  went 
on,  and  Fletcher  called  another  council.  It  left 
him  in  a  worse  position  than  before.  The  Iroquois 
again  asked  for  help  :  he  could  not  promise  it,  but 
was  forced  to  yield  the  point,  and  tell  them  that  he 
consented  to  their  making  peace  with  Onontio. 

It  is  certain  that  they  wanted  peace,  but  equally 
certain  that  they  did  not  want  it  to  be  lasting,  and 
sought  nothing  more  than  a  breathing  time  to  re- 
gain their  strength.  Even  now  some  of  them  were 
for  continuing  the  war ;  and  at  the  great  council 
at  Onondaga,  where  the  matter  was  debated,  the 
Onondagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mohawks  spurned  the 
French  proposals,  and  refused  to  give  up  their 
prisoners.  The  Cayugas  and  some  of  the  Senecas 
were  of  another  mind,  and  agreed  to  a  partial  com- 
pliance with  Frontenac's  demands.  The  rest  seem 
to  have  stood  passive  in  the  hope  of  gaining  time. 

They  were  disappointed.  In  vain  the  Seneca 
and  Cayuga  deputies  buried  the  hatchet  at  Mont- 
real, and  promised  that  the  other  nations  would 
soon  do  likewise.  Frontenac  was  not  to  be  de- 
ceived. He  would  accept  nothing  but  the  frank 
fulfilment  of  his  conditions,  refused  the  proffered 


1  Fletcher  is,  however,  charged  with  gross  misconduct  in  regard  to 
the  four  companies,  which  lie  is  said  to  have  kept  at  about  half  their 
complement,  in  order  to  keep  the  balance  of  their  pay  for  himself. 

26 


402       FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.     [1694-96. 

peace,  and  told  his  Indian  allies  to  wage  war  to 
the  knife.  There  was  a  dog-feast  and  a  war-dance, 
and  the  strife  began  anew. 

In  all  these  conferences,  the  Iroquois  had  stood 
by  their  English  allies,  with  a  fidelity  not  too  well 
merited.  But,  though  they  were  loj^al  towards  the 
English,  they  had  acted  with  duplicity  towards  the 
French,  and,  while  treating  of  peace  with  them, 
had  attacked  some  of  their  Indian  allies,  and  in- 
trigued with  others.  They  pursued  with  more 
persistency  than  ever  the  policy  they  had  adopted 
in  the  time  of  La  Barre,  that  is,  to  persuade  or 
frighten  the  tribes  of  the  west  to  abandon  the 
French,  join  hands  with  them  and  the  English,  and 
send  their  furs  to  Albany  instead  of  Montreal ;  for 
the  sagacious  confederates  knew  well  that,  if  the 
trade  were  turned  into  this  new  channel,  their 
local  position  would  enable  them  to  control  it. 
The  scheme  was  good ;  but.  with  whatever  consis- 
tency their  chiefs  and  elders  might  pursue  it,  the 
wayward  ferocity  of  their  young  warriors  crossed 
it  incessantly,  and  murders  alternated  with  in- 
trigues. On  the  other  hand,  the  western  tribes,  who 
since  the  war  had  been  but  ill  supplied  with  French 
goods  and  French  brandy,  knew  that  they  could 
have  English  goods  and  English  rum  in  great 
abundance,  and  at  far  less  cost ;  and  thus,  in  spite 
of  hate  and  fear,  the  intrigue  went  on.  Michilli- 
mackinac  was  the  focus  of  it,  but  it  pervaded  all 
the  west.  The  position  of  Frontenac  was  one  of 
great  difficulty,  and  the  more  so  that  the  intestine 
quarrels  of  his  allies  excessively  complicated  the 


1694-06.]      PERPLEXITIES  OF  FRONTENAC.        403 

mazes  of  forest  diplomacy.  This  heterogeneous 
multitude,  scattered  in  tribes  and  groups  of  tribes 
over  two  thousand  miles  of  wilderness,  was  like  a  vast 
menagerie  of  wild  animals  ;  and  the  lynx  bristled 
at  the  wolf,  and  the  panther  grinned  fury  at  the 
bear,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts  to  form  them1  into  a 
happy  family  under  his  paternal  rule. 

La  Motte-Cadillac  commanded  at  Michillimacki- 
nac,  Courtemanche  was  stationed  at  Fort  Miamis, 
and  Tonty  and  La  Foret  at  the  fortified  rock  of  St. 
Louis  on  the  Illinois ;  while  Nicolas  Perrot  roamed 
among  the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi,  striving  at  the 
risk  of  his  life  to  keep  them  at  peace  with  each 
other,  and  in  alliance  with  the  French.  Yet  a  plot 
presently  came  to  light,  by  which  the  Foxes,  Mas- 
contins,  and  Kickapoos  were  to  join  hands,  re- 
nounce the  French,  and  cast  their  fortunes  with 
the  Iroquois  and  the  English.  There  was  still  more 
anxiety  for  the  tribes  of  Michillimackinac,  because 
the  results  of  their  defection  would  be  more  im- 
mediate. This  important  post  had  at  the  time  an 
Indian  population  of  six  or  seven  thousand  souls, 
a  Jesuit  mission,  a  fort  with  two  hundred  soldiers, 
and  a  village  of  about  sixty  houses,  occupied  by 
traders  and  courears  de  hois.  The  Indians  of  the 
place  were  in  relations  more  or  less  close  with  all 
the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  The  Huron  village  was 
divided  between  two  rival  chiefs :  the  Baron,  who 
was  deep  in  Iroquois  and  English  intrigue  ;  and  the 
Eat,  who,  though  once  the  worst  enemy  of  the 
French,  now  stood  their  friend.  The  Ottawas  and 
other   Algonquins  of   the    adjacent  villages  were 


404       FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.     [1694-96. 

savages  of  a  lower  grade,  tossed  continually  be- 
tween hatred  of  the  Iroquois,  distrust  of  the  French, 
and  love  of  English  goods  and  English  rum.1 

La  Motte-Caclillac  found  that  the  Hurons  of  the 
Baron's  band  were  receiving  messengers  and  peace 
belts  from  New  York  and  her  reel  allies,  that  the 
English  had  promised  to  build  a  trading  house  on 
Lake  Erie,  and  that  the  Iroquois  had  invited  the 
lake  tribes  to  a  grand  convention  at  Detroit.  These 
belts  and  messages  were  sent,  in  the  Indian  ex- 
pression, "  underground,"  that  is,  secretly ;  and 
the  envoys  who  brought  them  came  in  the  dis- 
guise of  prisoners  taken  by  the  Hurons.  On  one 
occasion,  seven  Iroquois  were  brought  in  ;  and  some 
of  the  French,  suspecting  them  to  be  agents  of  the 
negotiation,  stabbed  two  of  them  as  they  landed. 
There  was  a  great  tumult.  The  Hurons  took  arms 
to  defend  the  remaining  five ;  but  at  length  suf- 
fered themselves  to  be  appeased,  and  even  gave 
one  of  the  Iroquois,  a  chief,  into  the  hands  of  the 
French,  who,  says  La  Potherie,  determined  to 
"make  an  example  of  him."  They  invited  the 
■Ottawas  to  "  drink  the  broth  of  an  Iroquois."  The 
wretch  was  made  fast  to  a  stake,  and  a  Frenchman 
began  the  torture  by  burning  him  with  a  red-hot 
gun-barrel.    The  mob  of  savages  was  soon  wrought 

1  "Si  les  Outaouacs  (Ottawas)  et  Hurons  concluent  la  paix  avec 
l'Iroquois  sans  nostre  participation,  et  donnent  chez  eux  l'entree  a  l'An- 
glois  pour  le  commerce,  la  Colonie  est  entierement  ruinee,  puisque  e'est 
le  seul  (moi/en)  par  lequel  ce  pays-cy  puisse  subsister,  et  Ton  peut  as- 
seurer  que  si  les  sauvages  goustent  une  fois  du  commerce  de  l'Anglois, 
ils  rompront  pour  toujours  avec  les  Francois,  parcequ'ils  ne  peuvent 
donner  les  marchandises  qu'a  un  prix  beaucoup  plus  hault."  Frontenac 
au  Ministre,  25  Oct..  1696. 


1694-96.]  BARBAROUS  POLICY.  405 

up  to  the  required  pitch  of  ferocity ;  and,  after 
atrociously  tormenting  him,  they  cut  him  to  pieces, 
and  ate  him.1  It  was  clear  that  the  more  Iroquois 
the  allies  of  France  could  be  persuaded  to  burn, 
the  less  would  be  the  danger  that  they  would 
make  peace  with  the  confederacy.  On  another 
occasion,  four  were  tortured  at  once  ;  and  La  Motte- 
Cadillac  writes,  "  If  any  more  prisoners  are  brought 
me,  I  promise  you  that  their  fate  will  be  no 
sweeter." 2 

The  same  cruel  measures  were  practised  when 
the  Ottawas  came  to  trade  at  Montreal.  Fronte- 
nac  once  invited  a  band  of  them  to  "  roast  an  Iro- 
quois," newly  caught  by  the  soldiers ;  but  as  they 
had  hamstrung  him,  to  prevent  his  escape,  he  bled 
to  death  before  the  torture  began.3  In  the  next 
spring,  the  revolting  tragedy  of  Michillimackinac 
was  repeated  at  Montreal,  where  four  more  Iro- 
quois were  burned  by  the  soldiers,  inhabitants,  and 
Indian  allies.  "It  was  the  mission  of  Canada," 
says  a  Canadian  writer,  "  to  propagate  Christianity 
and  civilization."  4 

Every  effort  was  vain.  La  Motte-Cadillac  wrote 
that  matters  grew  worse  and  worse,  and  that  the 

i  La  Potherie,  II.  298. 

2  La  Motte-Cadillac  a ,  3  Aug.,  1695.   A  translation  of  this  letter 

will  be  found  in  Sheldon,  Early  History  of  Michigan. 

3  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe*  de  plus  remarquable  entre  les  Francois  et  les 
Iroquois  durant  la  pre'sente  anne'e,  1695.  There  is  a  translation  in  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  IX.  Compare  La  Potherie,  who  misplaces  the  incident  as  to 
date. 

4  This  last  execution  was  an  act  of  reprisal :  "  J'abandonnay  les  4 
prisonniers  aux  soldats,  habitants,  et  sauvages,  qui  les  bruslerent  par 
represailles  de  deux  du  Sault  que  cette  nation  avoit  traitte  de  la  mesme 
maniere."     Callieres  au  Ministre,  20  Oct.,  1696. 


406       FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.     [1694-96. 

Ottawas  had  been  made  to  believe  that  the  French 
neither  would  nor  could  protect  them,  but  meant 
to  leave  them  to  their  fate.  They  thought  that 
the}'  had  no  hope  except  in  peace  with  the  Iroquois, 
and  had  actually  gone  to  meet  them  at  an  ap- 
pointed rendezvous.  One  course  alone  was  now 
left  to  Frontenac,  and  this  was  to  strike  the  Iro- 
quois with  a  blow  heavy  enough  to  humble  them, 
and  teach  the  wavering  hordes  of  the  west  that 
he  was,  in  truth,  their  father  and  their  defender. 
Nobody  knew  so  well  as  he  the  difficulties  of  the 
attempt ;  and,  deceived  perhaps  by  his  own  ener- 
gy, he  feared  that,  in  his  absence  on  a  distant  expe- 
dition, the  governor  of  New  York  would  attack 
Montreal.  Therefore,  he  had  begged  for  more 
troops.  About  three  hundred  were  sent  him,  and 
with  these  he  was  forced  to  content  himself. 

He  had  waited,  also,  for  another  reason.  In  his 
belief,  the  re-establishment  of  Fort  Frontenac, 
abandoned  in  a  panic  by  Denonville,  was  neces- 
sary to  the  success  of  a  campaign  against  the  Iro- 
quois. A  party  in  the  colony  vehemently  opposed 
the  measure,  on  the  ground  that  the  fort  would  be 
used  by  the  friends  of  Frontenac  for  purposes 
of  trade.  It  was,  nevertheless,  very  important,  if 
not  essential,  for  holding  the  Iroquois  in  check. 
They  themselves  felt  it  to  be  so ;  and,  when  they 
heard  that  the  French  intended  to  occupy  it  again, 
they  appealed  to  the  governor  of  New  York,  who 
told  them  that,  if  the  plan  were  carried  into  effect, 
he  would  march  to  their  aid  with  all  the  power  of 


1696.J  AUDACITY  OF  FRONTENAC.  407 

his  government.  He  did  not,  and  perhaps  could 
not,  keep  his  word.1 

In  the  question  of  Fort  Frontenac,  as  in  every 
thing  else,  the  opposition  to  the  governor,  always 
busy  and  vehement,  found  its  chief  representative 
in  the  intendant,  who  told  the  minister  that  the 
policy  of  Frontenac  was  all  wrong  ;  that  the  public 
good  was  not  its  object ;  that  he  disobeyed  or  evaded 
the  orders  of  the  king ;  and  that  he  had  suffered  the 
Iroquois  to  delude  him  by  false  overtures  of  peace. 
The  representations  of  the  intendant  and  his  fac- 
tion had  such  effect,  that  Ponchartrain  wrote  to 
the  governor  that  the  plan  of  re-establishing  Fort 
Frontenac  "  must  absolutely  be  abandoned."  Fron- 
tenac, bent  on  accomplishing  his  purpose,  and 
doubly  so  because  his  enemies  opposed  it,  had  an- 
ticipated the  orders  of  the  minister,  and  sent  seven 
hundred  men  to  Lake  Ontario  to  repair  the  fort. 
The  day  after  they  left  Montreal,  the  letter  of  Pon- 
chartrain arrived.  The  intendant  demanded  their 
recall.  Frontenac  refused.  The  fort  was  repaired, 
garrisoned,  and  victualled  for  a  year. 

A  successful  campaign  was  now  doubly  necessary 
to  the  governor,  for  by  this  alone  could  he  hope  to 
avert  the  consequences  of  his  audacity.  He  waited 
no  longer,  but  mustered  troops,  militia,  and  Indians, 
and  marched  to  attack  the  Iroquois.2 

1  Colden,  178.  Fletcher  could  get  no  men  from  his  own  or  neighbor- 
ing governments.     See  note,  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

2  The  above  is  drawn  from  the  correspondence  of  Frontenac,  Cham- 
pigny,  La  Motte-Cadillac,  and  Callieres,  on  one  hand,  and  the  king  and 
the  minister  on  the  other.  The  letters  are  too  numerous  to  specify.  Also, 
from  the  official  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe'  de  plus  remarquable  en  Canada, 
1694,  16'J5,  and  Ibid.,  1695,  1696;  Me  moire  sounds  au  Ministre  de  ce  qui  re'- 


408  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.  [1696- 


Military  Inefficiency  of  the  British  Colonies.  —  "  His 
Majesty  has  subjects  enough  in  those  parts  of  America  to  drive 
out  the  French  from  Canada;  but  they  are  so  crumbled  into  little 
governments,  and  so  disunited,  that  they  have  hitherto  afforded  lit- 
tle assistance  to  each  other,  and  now  seem  in  a  much  worse  dispo- 
sition to  do  it  for  the  future."  This  is  the  complaint  of  the  Lords 
of  Trade.  Governor  Fletcher  writes  bitterly  :  "  Here  every  little 
government  sets  up  for  despotic  power,  and  allows  no  appeal  to 
the  Crown,  but,  by  a  little  juggling,  defeats  all  commands  and  in- 
junctions from  the  King."  Fletcher's  complaint  was  not  unpro- 
voked. The  Queen  had  named  him  commander-in-chief,  during 
the  war,  of  the  militia  of  several  of  the  colonies,  and  empowered 
him  to  call  on  them  for  contingents  of  men,  not  above  350  from 
Massachusetts,  250  from  Virginia,  160  from  Maryland,  120  from 
Connecticut,  48  from  Rhode  Island,  and  80  from  Pennsylvania. 
This  measure  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  colonies,  and  several  of 
them  remonstrated  on  constitutional  grounds ;  but  the  attorney- 
general,  to  whom  the  question  was  referred,  reported  that  the 
crown  had  power,  under  certain  limitations,  to  appoint  a  com- 
mander-in-chief. Fletcher,  therefore,  in  his  character  as  such, 
called  for  a  portion  of  the  men;  but  scarcely  one  could  he  get. 
He  was  met  by  excuses  and  evasions,  which,  especially  in  the  case 
of  Connecticut,  were  of  a  most  vexatious  character.  At  last,  that 
colony,  tired  by  his  importunities,  condescended  to  furnish  him  with 
twenty-five  men.  With  the  others,  he  was  less  fortunate,  though 
Virginia  and  Maryland  compounded  with  a  sum  of  money.  Each 
colony  claimed  the  control  of  its  own  militia,  and  was  anxious  to 
avoid  the  establishment  of  any  precedent  which  might  deprive  it  of 
the  right.  Even  in  the  military  management  of  each  separate  col- 
ony, there  was  scarcely  less  difficulty.  A  requisition  for  troops 
from  a  royal  governor  was  always  regarded  with  jealousy,  and  the 
provincial  assemblies  were  slow  to  grant  money  for  their  support. 
In  1692,  when  Fletcher  came  to  New  York,  the  assembly  gave 
him  300  men,  for  a  year;  in  1693,  they  gave  him  an  equal  number; 
in  1694,  they  allowed  him  but  170,  he  being  accused,  apparently 
with  truth,  of  not  having  made  good  use  of  the  former  levies.  He 
afterwards  asked  that  the  force  at  his  disposal  should  be  increased 
to  500  men,  to  guard  the  frontier;  and  the  request  was  not  granted. 
In  1697  he  was  recalled;  and  the  Earl  of  Bellomont  was  commis- 
sure ties  Avis  recus  du  Canada  en  1695;  Champigny,  Me'moire  concernant 
le  Fort  de  Cataracouy ;  La  Potherie,  II.  284-302,  IV.  1-80;  Colden,  chaps, 
x.,  xi. 


1696.]  MILITARY  INEFFICIENCY.  409 

sioned  governor  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire, 
and  captain-general,  during  the  war,  of  all  the  forces  of  those  col- 
onies, as  well  as  of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Jersey. 
The  close  of  the  war  quickly  ended  this  military  authority;  but 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that,  had  it  continued,  the  earl's  re- 
quisitions for  men,  in  his  character  of  captain-general,  would  have 
had  more  success  than  those  of  Fletcher.  The  whole  affair  is  a 
striking  illustration  of  the  original  isolation  of  communities,  which 
afterwards  became  welded  into  a  nation.  It  involved  a  military 
paralysis  almost  complete.  Sixty  years  later,  under  the  sense  of  a 
great  danger,  the  British  colonies  were  ready  enough  to  receive  a 
commander-in-chief,  and  answer  his  requisitions. 

A  great  number  of  documents  bearing  upon  the  above  subject 
will  be  found  in  the  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  IV. 


CHAPTEE   XIX. 

1696-1698. 
FRONTENAC   ATTACKS   THE   ONONDAGAS. 

March  of  Frontenac. —  Flight  of  the  Enemy.  —  An  Iroquois 
Stoic. — Eelief  for  the  Onondagas. — Boasts  of  Frontenac. 
—  His  Complaints.  —  His  Enemies. —Parties  in  Canada. — 
Views  of  Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontenac  prevails. — 
Peace  of  Rtswick.  —  Frontenac  and  Bellomont.  —  Schuyler 
at  Quebec.  —  Festivities. — A  Last  Defiance. 

On  the  fourth  of  July,  Frontenac  left  Montreal, 
at  the  head  of  about  twenty-two  hundred  men. 
On  the  nineteenth  he  reached  Fort  Frontenac,  and 
on  the  twenty-sixth  he  crossed  to  the  southern  shore 
of  Lake  Ontario.  A  swarm  of  Indian  canoes  led 
the  way ;  next  followed  two  battalions  of  regulars, 
in  bateaux,  commanded  by  Callieres;  then  more 
bateaux,  laden  with  cannon,  mortars,  and  rockets ; 
then  Frontenac  himself,  surrounded  by  the  canoes 
of  his  staff  and  his  guard  ;  then  eight  hundred 
Canadians,  under  Kamesay  ;  while  more  regulars 
and  more  Indians,  all  commanded  by  Vaudreuil, 
brought  up  the  rear.  In  two  days  they  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Oswego  ;  strong  scouting-parties 
were  sent  out  to  scour  the  forests  in  front;  while 
the  expedition  slowly  and  painfully  worked  its  way 
up  the  stream.     Most  of  the  troops  and  Canadians 


1696.]  MARCH  OF  FRONTENAC.  411 

marched  through  the  matted  woods  along  the 
banks  ;  while  the  bateaux  and  canoes  were  pushed, 
rowed,  paddled,  or  dragged  forward  against  the 
current.  On  the  evening  of  the  thirtieth,  they 
reached  the  falls,  where  the  river  plunged  over 
ledges  of  rock  which  completely  stopped  the  way. 
The  work  of  "  carrying"  was  begun  at  once.  The 
Indians  and  Canadians  carried  the  canoes  to  the 
navigable  water  above,  and  gangs  of  men  dragged 
the  bateaux  up  the  portage-path  on  rollers.  Night 
soon  came,  and  the  work  was  continued  till  ten 
o'clock  by  torchlight.  Frontenac  would  have 
passed  on  foot  like  the  rest,  but  the  Indians  would 
not  have  it  so.  They  lifted  him  in  his  canoe  upon 
their  shoulders,  and  bore  him  in  triumph,  singing 
and  yelling,  through  the  forest  and  along  the  margin 
of  the  rapids,  the  blaze  of  the  torches  lighting  the 
strange  procession,  where  plumes  of  officers  and 
uniforms  of  the  governor's  guard  mingled  with  the 
feathers  and  scalp-locks  of  naked  savages. 

When  the  falls  were  passed,  the  troops  pushed 
on  as  before  along  the  narrow  stream,  and  through 
the  tangled  labyrinths  on  either  side ;  till,  on  the 
first  of  August,  they  reached  Lake  Onondaga,  and, 
with  sails  set,  the  whole  flotilla  glided  before  the 
wind,  and  landed  the  motley  army  on  a  rising 
ground  half  a  league  from  the  salt  springs  of  Salina. 
The  next  day  was  spent  in  building  a  fort  to  pro- 
tect the  canoes,  bateaux,  and  stores ;  and,  as 
evening  closed,  a  ruddy  glow  above  the  southern 
forest  told  them  that  the  town  of  Onondaga  was 
on  fire. 


412         FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE   OXOXDAGAS.        [1696. 

The  Marquis  de  Crisasy  was  left,  with  a  detach- 
ment, to  hold  the  fort ;  and,  at  sunrise  on  the 
fourth,  the  army  moved  forward  in  order  of  battle. 
It  was  formed  in  two  lines,  regulars  on  the  right 
and  left,  and  Canadians  in  the  centre.  Callieres 
commanded  the  first  line,  and  Vaudreuil  the  second. 
Frontenac  was  between  them,  surrounded  by  his 
staff  officers  and  his  guard,  and  followed  by  the 
artillery,  which  relays  of  Canadians  dragged  and 
lifted  forward  with  inconceivable  labor.  The  gov- 
ernor, enfeebled  by  age,  was  carried  in  an  arm-chair ; 
while  Callieres,  disabled  by  gout,  was  mounted  on 
a  horse,  brought  for  the  purpose  in  one  of  the  ba- 
teaux. To  Subercase  fell  the  hard  task  of  directing 
the  march  among  the  dense  columns  of  the  primeval 
forest,  by  hill  and  hollow,  over  rocks  and  fallen 
trees,  through  swamps,  brooks,  and  gullies,  among 
thickets,  brambles,  and  vines.  It  was  but  eight  or 
nine  miles  to  Onondaga ;  but  they  were  all  day  in 
reaching  it,  and  evening  was  near  when  they 
emerged  from  the  shadows  of  the  forest  into  the 
broad  light  of  the  Indian  clearing.  The  maize- 
fields  stretched  before  them  for  miles,  and  in  the 
midst  lay  the  charred  and  smoking  ruins  of  the 
Iroquois  capital.  Not  an  enemy  was  to  be  seen, 
but  they  found  the  dead  bodies  of  two  murdered 
French  prisoners.  Scouts  were  sent  out,  guards 
were  set,  and  the  disappointed  troops  encamped  on 
the  maize-fields. 

Onondaga,  formerly  an  open  town,  had  been 
fortified  by  the  English,  who  had  enclosed  it  with 
a  double  range  of  strong  palisades,  forming  a  rect- 


1696.]  THE  ONEIDAS  BEG  EOR  PEACE.  413 

angle,  flanked  by  bastions  at  the  four  corners,  and 
surrounded  by  an  outer  fence  of  tall  poles.  The 
place  was  not  defensible  against  cannon  and  mor- 
tars; and  the  four  hundred  warriors  belonging  to 
it  had  been  but  slightly  reinforced  from  the  other 
tribes  of  the  confederacy,  each  of  which  feared 
that  the  French  attack  might  be  directed  against 
itself.  On  the  approach  of  an  enemy  of  five  times 
their  number,  they  had  burned  their  town,  and 
retreated  southward  into  distant  forests. 

The  troops  were  busied  for  two  days  in  hacking 
down  the  maize,  digging  up  the  caches,  or  hidden 
stores  of  food,  and  destroying  their  contents.  The 
neighboring  tribe  of  the  Oneidas  sent  a  messenger 
to  beg  peace.  Frontenac  replied  that  he  would 
grant  it,  on  condition  that  they  all  should  migrate  to 
Canada,  and  settle  there  ;  and  V audreuil,  with  seven 
hundred  men,  was  sent  to  enforce  the  demand.  Mean- 
while, a  few  Onondaga  stragglers  had  been  found ; 
and  among  them,  hidden  in  a  hollow  tree,  a  withered 
warrior,  eighty  years  old,  and  nearly  blind.  Fron- 
tenac would  have  spared  him ;  but  the  Indian  allies, 
Christians  from  the  mission  villages,  were  so  eager 
to  burn  him  that  it  was  thought  inexpedient  to 
refuse  them.  They  tied  him  to  the  stake,  and  tried 
to  shake  his  constancy  by  every  torture  that  fire 
could  inflict ;  but  not  a  cry  nor  a  murmur  escaped 
him.  He  defied  them  to  do  their  worst,  till,  en- 
raged at  his  taunts,  one  of  them  gave  him  a  mortal 
stab.  "  I  thank  you,"  said  the  old  Stoic,  with  his 
last  breath ;  "  but  you  ought  to  have  finished  as 
you  began,  and  killed  me  by  fire.     Learn  from  me, 


414    FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGAS.   [1696. 

you  dogs  of  Frenchmen,  how  to  endure  pain  ;  and 
you,  dogs  of  dogs,  their  Indian  allies,  think  what 
you  will  do  when  you  are  burned  like  me."  * 

Yauclreuil  and  his  detachment  returned  within 
three  days,  after  destroying  Oneida,  with  all  the 
growing  corn,  and  seizing  a  number  of  chiefs  as 
hostages  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  demands  of 
Frontenac.  There  was  some  thought  of  marching 
on  Cayuga,  but  the  governor  judged  it  to  be  in- 
expedient ;  and,  as  it  would  be  useless  to  chase  the 
fugitive  Onondagas,  nothing  remained  but  to  re- 
turn home.2 

While  Frontenac  was  on  his  inarch,  Governor 

1  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe",  etc.,  1695,  1696 ;  La  Potherie,  III.  279. 
Callieres  and  the  author  of  the  Relation  of  1682-1712  also  speak  of  the 
extraordinary  fortitude  of  the  victim.  The  Jesuits  say  that  it  was  not 
the  Christian  Indians  who  insisted  on  burning  him,  but  the  French 
themselves,  "  qui  voulurent  absolument  qu'il  fut  brule  a  petit  feu,  ce 
qu'ils  executerent  eux-memes.  Un  Jesuite  le  confessa  et  l'assista  a  la 
mort,  l'encourageant  a  souffrir  courageusement  et  chre'tiennement  les.tour- 
mens."  Relation  de  1696  (Shea),  10.  This  writer  adds  that,  when  Fron- 
tenac heard  of  it,  he  ordered  him  to  be  spared  ;  but  it  was  too  late. 
Charlevoix  misquotes  the  old  Stoic's  last  words,  which  were,  according 
to  the  official  Relation  of  1695-6  :  "  Je  te  remercie  mais  tu  aurais  bien 
du  achever  de  me  faire  mourir  par  le  feu.  Apprenez,  chiens  de  Francois, 
a  souflfrir,  et  vous  sauvages  leurs  allies,  qui  etes  les  chiens  des  chiens, 
souvenez  vous  de  ce  que  vous  devez  faire  quand  vous  serez  en  pareil 
etat  que  moi." 

-  2  On  the  expedition  against  the  Onondagas,  Callieres  au  Ministre,  20 
Oct.,  1696;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  25  Oct.,  1696;  Frontenac  et  Champigny 
au  Ministre  (lettre  commune)  26  Oct.,  1696;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe*,  etc., 
1695,1696;  Relation,  1682-1712 ;  Relation  des  Jesuites,  1696  (Shea) ;  Doc. 
Hist.  N.  Y.,  I.  323-355 ;  La  Potherie,  III.  270-282 ;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
IV.  242. 

Charlevoix  charges  Frontenac  on  this  occasion  with  failing  to  pursue 
his  advantage,  lest  others,  and  especially  Callieres,  should  get  more 
honor  than  he.  The  accusation  seems  absolutely  groundless.  His 
many  enemies  were  silent  about  it  at  the  time  ;  for  the  king  warmly 
commends  his  conduct  on  the  expedition,  and  Callieres  himself,  writing 
immediately  after,  gives  him  nothing  but  praise. 


1696.]  .  BOASTS   OF  FRONTENAC.  415 

Fletcher  had  heard  of  his  approach,  and  called  the 
council  at  New  York  to  consider  what  should  be 
done.  They  resolved  that  "  it  will  be  very  griev- 
ous to  take  the  people  from  their  labour ;  and  there 
is  likewise  no  money  to  answer  the  charge  thereof." 
Money  was,  however,  advanced  by  Colonel  Cort- 
landt  and  others ;  and  the  governor  wrote  to  Con- 
necticut and  New  Jersey  for  their  contingents  of 
men ;  but  they  thought  the  matter  no  concern  of 
theirs,  and  did  not  respond.  Fletcher  went  to 
Albany  with  the  few  men  he  could  gather  at  the 
moment,  and  heard  on  his  arrival  that  the  French 
were  gone.  Then  he  convoked  the  chiefs,  condoled 
with  them,  and  made  them  presents.  Corn  was 
sent  to  the  Ononclagas  and  Oneidas  to  support 
them  through  the  winter,  and  prevent  the  famine 
which  the  French  hoped  would  prove  their  de- 
struction. 

What  Frontenac  feared  had  come  to  pass.  The 
enemy  had  saved  themselves  by  flight ;  and  his  ex- 
pedition, like  that  of  Denonville,  was  but  half  suc- 
cessful. He  took  care,  however,  to  announce  it  to 
the  king  as  a  triumph. 

"  Sire,  the  benedictions  which  Heaven  has  ever 
showered  upon  your  Majesty's  arms  have  extended 
even  to  this  New  World ;  whereof  we  have  had 
visible  proof  in  the  expedition  I  have  just  made 
against  the  Ononclagas,  the  principal  nation  of  the 
Iroquois.  I  had  long  projected  this  enterprise,  but 
the  difficulties  and  risks  which  attended  it  made 
me  regard  it  as  imprudent ;  and  I  should  never  have 
resolved  to  undertake  it,  if  I  had  not  last  year  es- 


416   FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGAS.    [1696. 

tablished  an  entrepot  {Fort  Frontenac),  which 
made  my  communications  more  easy,  and  if  I  had 
not  known,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  this  was  abso- 
lutely the  only  means  to  prevent  our  allies  from 
making  peace  with  the  Iroquois,  and  introducing 
the  English  into  their  country,  by  which  the  colo- 
ny would  infallibly  be  ruined.  Nevertheless,  by 
unexpected  good  fortune,  the  Ononclagas,  who  pass 
for  masters  of  the  other  Iroquois,  and  the  terror  of 
all  the  Indians  of  this  country,  fell  into  a  sort  of 
bewilderment,  which  could  only  have  come  from 
on  High ;  and  were  so  terrified  to  see  me  march 
,  against  them  in  person,  and  cover  their  lakes  and 
rivers  with  nearly  four  hundred  sail,  that,  without 
availing  themselves  of  passes  where  a  hundred 
men  might  easily  hold  four  thousand  in  check, 
they  did  not  dare  to  lay  a  single  ambuscade,  but, 
after  waiting  till  I  was  fiwe  leagues  from  their  fort, 
they  set  it  on  fire  with  all  their  dwellings,  and  fled, 
with  their  families,  twenty  leagues  into  the  depths 
of  the  forest.  It  could  have  been  wished,  to  make 
the  affair  more  brilliant,  that  they  had  tried  to 
hold  their  fort  against  us,  for  we  were  prepared  to 
force  it  and  kill  a  great  many  of  them ;  but  their 
ruin  is  not  the  less  sure,  because  the  famine,  to 
which  they  are  reduced,  will  destroy  more  than  we 
could  have  killed  by  sword  and  gun. 

"  All  the  officers  and  men  have  done  their  duty 
admirably ;  and  especially  M.  de  Callieres,  who  has 
been  a  great  help  to  me.  I  know  not  if  your  Maj- 
esty will  think  that  I  have  tried  to  do  mine,  and 
will  hold  me  worthy  of  some  mark  of  honor  that 


1696.]  COMPLAINTS   OF  FRONTENAC.  417 

may  enable  me  to  pass  the  short  remainder  of  my 
life  in  some  little  distinction ;  but,  whether  this  be 
so  or  not,  I  most  humbly  pray  your  Majesty  to  be- 
lieve that  I  will  sacrifice  the  rest  of  my  days  to 
your  Majesty's  service  with  the  same  ardor  I  have 
always  felt."  1 

The  king  highly  commended  him,  and  sent  him 
the  cross  of  the  Military  Order  of  St.  Louis.  Cal- 
lieres,  who  had  deserved  it  less,  had  received  it 
several  years  before  ;  but  he  had  not  found  or  pro- 
voked so  many  clefamers.  Frontenac  complained 
to  the  minister  that  his  services  had  been  slightly 
and  tardily  requited.  This  was  true,  and  it  was 
due  largely  to  the  complaints  excited  by  his  own 
perversity  and  violence.  These  complaints  still 
continued ;  but  the  fault  was  not  all  on  one  side, 
and  Frontenac  himself  had  often  just  reason  to 
retort  them.  He  wrote  to  Ponchar train  :  "  If  you 
will  not  be  so  good  as  to  look  closely  into  the  true 
state  of  things  here,  I  shall  always  be  exposed  to 
detraction,  and  forced  to  make  new  apologies, 
which  is  very  hard  for  a  person  so  full  of  zeal  and 
uprightness  as  I  am.  My  secretary,  who  is  going 
to  France,  will  tell  you  all  the  ugly  intrigues  used 
to  defeat  my  plans  for  the  service  of  the  king,  and 
the  growth  of  the  colony.  I  have  long  tried  to 
combat  these  artifices,  but  I  confess  that  I  no 
longer  feel  strength  to  resist  them,  and  must  suc- 
cumb at  last,  if  you  will  not  have  the  goodness  to 
give  me  strong  support."  2 

1  Frontenac  au  Roy,  25  Oct.,  1696. 

2  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  25  Oct.,  1696. 

27 


418      FRONTENAC  ATTACKS   THE   ONONDAGAS.     [1696-98. 

He  still  continued  to  provoke  the  detraction 
which  he  deprecated,  till  he  drew,  at  last,  a  sharp 
remonstrance  from  the  minister.  "  The  dispute 
you  have  had  with  M.  de  Champigny  is  without 
cause,  and  I  confess  I  cannot  comprehend  how 
you  could  have  acted  as  you  have  done.  If  you 
do  things  of  this  sort,  you  must  expect  disagreeable 
consequences,  which  all  the  desire  I  have  to  oblige 
you  cannot  prevent.  It  is  deplorable,  both  for 
you  and  for  me,  that,  instead  of  using  my  good-will 
to  gain  favors  from  his  Majesty,  you  compel  me  to 
make  excuses  for  a  violence  which  answers  no 
purpose,  and  in  which  you  indulge  wantonly,  no- 
body can  tell  why."  1 

Most  of  these  quarrels,  however  trivial  in  them- 
selves, had  a  solid  foundation,  and  were  closely 
connected  with  the  great  question  of  the  control 
of  the  west.  As  to  the  measures  to  be  taken,  two 
parties  divided  the  colony ;  one  consisting  of  the 
governor  and  his  friends,  and  the  other  of  the  in- 
tendant,  the  Jesuits,  and  such  of  the  merchants  as 
were  not  in  favor  with  Frontenac.  His  policy  was 
to  protect  the  Indian  allies  at  all  risks,  to  repel  by 
force,  if  necessary,  every  attempt  of  the  English  to 
encroach  on  the  territory  in  dispute,  and  to  occupy 
it  by  forts  which  should  be  at  once  posts  of  war 
and  commerce  and  places  of  rendezvous  for  traders 
and  voyageurs.  Champigny  and  his  party  de- 
nounced this  system ;  urged  that  the  forest  posts 
should  be  abandoned,  that  both  garrisons  and 
traders  should  be  recalled,  that  the  French  should 

1  Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  21  Mai,  1698. 


1696-98.]  PARTIES   IN   CANADA.  419 

not  go  to  the  Indians,  but  that  the  Indians  should 
come  to  the  French,  that  the  fur  trade  of  the  inte- 
rior should  be  carried  on  at  Montreal,  and  that  no 
Frenchman  should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  settled 
limits  of  the  colony,  except  the  Jesuits  and  persons 
in  their  service,  who,  as  Champigny  insisted,  would 
be  able  to  keep  the  Indians  in  the  French  interest 
without  the  help  of  soldiers. 

Strong  personal  interests  were  active  on  both 
sides,  and  gave  bitterness  to  the  strife.  Frontenac, 
who  always  stood  by  his  friends,  had  placed  Tonty, 
La  Foret,  La  Motte-Cadillac,  and  others  of  their 
number,  in  charge  of  the  forest  posts,  where  they 
made  good  profit  by  trade.  Moreover,  the  licenses 
for  trading  expeditions  into  the  interior  were  now, 
as  before,  used  largely  for  the  benefit  of  his  favor- 
ites. The  Jesuits  also  declared,  and  with  some 
truth,  that  the  forest  posts  were  centres  of  de- 
bauchery, and  that  the  licenses  for  the  western 
trade  were  the  ruin  of  innumerable  young  men. 
All  these  reasons  were  laid  before  the  king.  In 
vain  Frontenac  represented  that  to  abandon  the 
forest  posts  would  be  to  resign  to  the  English  the 
trade  of  the  interior  country,  and  at  last  the  coun- 
try itself.  The  royal  ear  was  open  to  his  oppo- 
nents, and  the  royal  instincts  reinforced  their 
arguments.  The  king,  enamoured  of  subordina- 
tion and  order,  wished  to  govern  Canada  as  he 
governed  a  province  of  France ;  and  this  could  be 
done  only  by  keeping  the  population  within  pre- 
scribed bounds.  Therefore,  he  commanded  that 
licenses  for  the  forest  trade  should  cease,  that  the 


420      FROXTEXAC  ATTACKS   THE   OXOXDAGAS.     [1696-98. 

forest  posts  should  be  abandoned  and  destroyed, 
that  all  Frenchmen  should  be  ordered  back  to  the 
settlements,  and  that  none  should  return  under 
pain  of  the  galleys.  An  exception  was  made  in 
favor  of  the  Jesuits,  who  were  allowed  to  continue 
their  western  missions,  subject  to  restrictions  de- 
signed to  prevent  them  from  becoming  a  cover  to 
illicit  fur  trade.  Frontenac  was  also  directed  to 
make  peace  with  the  Iroquois,  even,  if  necessary, 
without  including  the  western  allies  of  France ; 
that  is,  he  was  authorized  by  Louis  XIV.  to  pursue 
the  course  which  had  discredited  and  imperilled 
the  colony  under  the  rule  of  Denonville.1 

The  intentions  of  the  king  did  not  take  effect. 
The  policy  of  Frontenac  was  the  true  one,  what- 
ever motives  may  have  entered  into  his  advocacy 
of  it.  In  view  of  the  geographical,  social,  political, 
and  commercial  conditions  of  Canada,  the  policy  of 
his  opponents  was  impracticable,  and  nothing  less 
than  a  perpetual  cordon  of  troops  could  have  pre- 
vented the  Canadians  from  escaping  to  the  back- 
woods. In  spite  of  all  the  evils  that  attended  the 
forest  posts,  it  would  have  been  a  blunder  to 
abandon  them.      This   quickly  became    apparent. 

1  Memoire  du  Boy  pour  Frontenac  et  Champigny,  26  Mai,  1696  ;  Ibid., 
27  Avril,  1697  ;  Registres  du  Conseil  Superieur,  Edit  du  21  Mai,  1696. 

"  Ce  qui  vous  avez  mande  de  l'accommodement  des  Sauvages  allies 
avec  les  Irocois  n'a  pas  permis  a  Sa  Majeste  d'entrer  dans  la  discution 
de  la  maniere  de  faire  rabandormement  des  postes  des  Francois  dans  la 
profondeur  des  terres,  particulierement  a  Missilimackinac.  .  .  En  tout 
cas  vous  ne  devez  pas  manquer  de  donner  ordre  pour  miner  les  forts  et 
tous  les  e'difices  qui  pourront  y  avoir  este  faits."  Le  Ministre  a  Fronte- 
nac, 26  Mai,  1696. 

Besides  the  above,  many  other  letters  and  despatches  on  both  sides 
have  been  examined  in  relation  to  these  questions. 


1696-98.]  POSITION  OF  FRONTENAC.  421 

Champigny  himself  saw  the  necessity  of  com- 
promise. The  instructions  of  the  king  were 
scarcely  given  before  they  were  partially  with- 
drawn, and  they  soon  became  a  dead  letter.  Even 
Fort  Frontenac  was  retained  after  repeated  direc- 
tions to  abandon  it.  The  policy  of  the  governor 
prevailed ;  the  colony  returned  to  its  normal 
methods  of  growth,  and  so  continued  to  the  end. 

Now  came  the  question  of  peace  with  the  Iro- 
quois, to  whose  mercy  Frontenac  was  authorized  to 
leave  his  western  allies.  He  was  the  last  man  to 
accept  such  permission.  Since  the  burning  of 
Onondaga,  the  Iroquois  negotiations  with  the 
western  tribes  had  been  broken  off,  and  several 
fights  had  occurred,  in  which  the  confederates  had 
suffered  loss  and  been  roused  to  vengeance.  This 
was  what  Frontenac  wanted,  but  at  the  same  time 
it  promised  him  fresh  trouble  ;  for,  while  he  was 
determined  to  prevent  the  Iroquois  from  making 
peace  with  the  allies  without  his  authority,  he  was 
equally  determined  to  compel  them  to  do  so  with 
it.  There  must  be  peace,  though  not  till  he  could 
control  its  conditions. 

The  Onondaga  campaign,  unsatisfactory  as  it 
was,  had  had  its  effect.  Several  Iroquois  chiefs 
came  to  Quebec  with  overtures  of  peace.  They 
brought  no  prisoners,  but  promised  to  bring  them 
in  the  spring ;  and  one  of  them  remained  as  a  hos- 
tage that  the  promise  should  be  kept.  It  was 
nevertheless  broken  under  English  influence  ;  and, 
instead  of  a  solemn  embassy,  the  council  of  .  Onon- 
daga sent  a  messenger  with  a  wampum  belt  to  tell 


422        EROXTEXAC  ATTACKS   THE   OXOXDAGAS.        [1698. 

Frontenac  that  they  were  all  so  engrossed  in  be- 
wailing the  recent  death  of  Black  Kettle,  a  famous 
war  chief,  that  they  had  no  strength  to  travel ; 
and  they  begged  that  Onontio  would  return  the 
hostage,  and  send  to  them  for  the  French  prisoners. 
The  messenger  farther  declared  that,  though  they 
would  make  peace  with  Onontio,  they  would 
not  make  it  with  his  allies.  Frontenac  threw 
back  the  peace-belt  into  his  face.  "  Tell  the 
chiefs  that,  if  they  must  needs  stay  at  home  to  cry 
about  a  trifle,  I  will  give  them  something  to  cry  for. 
Let  them  bring  me  every  prisoner,  French  and 
Indian,  and  make  a  treaty  that  shall  include  all 
my  children,  or  they  shall  feel  my  tomahawk 
again."  Then,  turning  to  a  number  of  Ottawas 
who  were  present :  "  You  see  that  I  can  make  peace 
for  myself  when  I  please.  If  I  continue  the  war, 
it  is  only  for  your  sake.  I  will  never  make  a  treaty 
without  including  you,  and  recovering  your  prison- 
ers like  my  own." 

Thus  the  matter  stood,  when  a  great  event  took 
place.  Early  in  February,  a  party  of  Dutch  and 
Indians  came  to  Montreal  with  news  that  peace 
had  been  signed  in  Europe  ;  and,  at  the  end  of 
May,  Major  Peter  Schuyler,  accompanied  by  Del- 
lius,  the  minister  of  Albany,  arrived  with  copies 
of  the  treaty  in  French  and  Latin.  The  scratch 
of  a  pen  at  Ryswick  had  ended  the  conflict  in 
America,  so  far  at  least  as  concerned  the  civilized 
combatants.  It  was  not  till  July  that  Frontenac 
received  the  official  announcement  from  Versailles, 
coupled  with  an  address  from  the  king  to  the 
people  of  Canada. 


1698.]  PEACE  OF  RYSWICK.  423 

Our  Faithful  and  Beloved,  —  The  moment  lias  arrived 
ordained  by  Heaven  to  reconcile  the  nations.  The  ratification  of 
the  treaty  concluded  some  time  ago  by  our  ambassadors  with 
those  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Empire,  after  having  made  peace 
with  Spain,  England,  and  Holland,  has  everywhere  restored 
the  tranquillity  so  much  desired.  Strasbourg,  one  of  the  chief 
ramparts  of  the  empire  of  heresy,  united  for  ever  to  the  Church 
and  to  our  Crown  ;  the  Rhine  established  as  the  barrier  between 
France  and  Germany ;  and,  what  touches  us  even  more,  the 
worship  of  the  True  Faith  authorized  by  a  solemn  engagement 
with  sovereigns  of  another  religion,  are  the  advantages  secured 
by  this  last  treaty.  The  Author  of  so  many  blessings  manifests 
Himself  so  clearly  that  we  cannot  but  recognize  His  goodness ; 
and  the  visible  impress  of  His  all-powerful  hand  is  as  it  were 
the  seal  He  has  affixed  to  justify  our  intent  to  cause  all  our 
realm  to  serve  and  obey  Him,  and  to  make  our  people  happy. 
We  have  begun  by  the  fulfilment  of  our  duty  in  offering  Him 
the  thanks  which  are  His  due  ;  and  we  have  ordered  the  arch- 
bishops and  bishops  of  our  kingdom  to  cause  Te  Deiwi  to  be 
sung  in  the  cathedrals  of  their  dioceses.  It  is  our  will  and  our 
command  that  you  be  present  at  that  which  will  be  sung  in  the 
cathedral  of  our  city  of  Quebec,  on  the  day  appointed  by  the 
Count  of  Frontenac,  our  governor  and  lieutenant-general  in 
New  France.     Herein  fail  not,  for  such  is  our  pleasure. 

Louis.1 

There  was  peace  between  the  two  crowns ;  but 
a  serious  question  still  remained  between  Frontenac 
and  the  new  governor  of  New  York,  the  Earl  of 
Bellomont.  When  Schuyler  and  Dellius  came  to 
Quebec,  they  brought  with  them  all  the  French 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  English  of  New  York, 
together  with  a  promise  from  Bellomont  that  he 
would  order  the  Iroquois,  subjects  of  the  British 
crown,  to  deliver  to  him  all  those  in  their  possession, 
and  that  he  would  then  send  them  to  Canada  under 

1  Lettre  du  Roy  pour  fair  e  chanter  le  Te  Deum,  12  Mars,  1698. 


424        ERONTENAC  ATTACKS   THE   OXONDAGAS. 


a  safe  escort.  The  two  envoys  demanded  of  Fron- 
tenac,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  should  deliver  to 
them  all  the  Iroquois  in  his  hands.  To  give  up 
Iroquois  prisoners  to  Bellomont,  or  to  receive 
through  him  French  prisoners  whom  the  Iroquois 
had  captured,  would  have  been  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  British  sovereignty  over  the  five  con- 
federate tribes.  Frontenac  replied  that  the  earl 
need  give  himself  no  trouble  in  the  matter,  as  the 
Iroquois  were  rebellious  subjects  of  King  Louis ; 
that  they  had  already  repented  and  begged  peace  ; 
and  that,  if  they  did  not  soon  come  to  conclude  it, 
he  should  use  force  to  compel  them. 

Bellomont  wrote,  in  return,  that  he  had  sent 
arms  to  the  Iroquois,  with  orders  to  defend  them- 
selves if  attacked  by  the  French,  and  to  give  no 
quarter  to  them  or  their  allies ;  and  he  added  that, 
if  necessary,  he  would  send  soldiers  to  their  aid. 
A  few  days  after,  he  received  fresh  news  of  Fron- 
tenac's  warlike  intentions,  and  wrote  in  wrath  as 
follows :  — 


Sir, —  Two  of  our  Indians,  of  the  Nation  called  Onondages, 
came  yesterday  to  advise  me  that  you  had  sent  two  renegades 
of  their  Nation  to  them,  to  tell  them  and  the  other  tribes,  except 
the  Mohawks,  that,  in  case  they  did  not  come  to  Canada  within 
forty  days  to  solicit  peace  from  you,  they  may  expect  your  march- 
ing into  their  country  at  the  head  of  an  army  to  constrain  them 
thereunto  by  force.  I,  on  my  side,  do  this  very  day  send  my 
lieutenant-governor  with  the  king's  troops  to  join  the  Indians, 
and  to  oppose  any  hostilities  you  will  attempt ;  and,  if  needs  be, 
I  will  arm  every  man  in  the  Provinces  under  my  government  to 
repel  you,  and  to  make  reprisals  for  the  damage  which  you  will 
commit  on  our  Indians.    This,  in  a  few  words,  is  the  part  I  will 


1698.J  SCHUYLER  AT   QUEBEC.  425 

take,  and  the  resolution  I  have  adopted,  whereof  I  have  thought 
it  proper  by  these  presents  to  give  you  notice. 
I  am,  Sir,  yours,  &c., 

Earl  of  Bellomont. 
New  York,  22d  August,  1698. 

To  arm  every  man  in  his  government  would 
have  been  difficult.  He  did,  however,  what  he 
could,  and  ordered  Captain  Nanfan,  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  to  repair  to  Albany ;  whence,  on  the  first 
news  that  the  French  were  approaching,  he  was  to 
march  to  the  relief  of  the  Iroquois  with  the  four 
shattered  companies  of  regulars  and  as  many  of 
the  militia  of  Albany  and  Ulster  as  he  could  mus- 
ter. Then  the  earl  sent  Wessels,  mayor  of  Albany, 
to  persuade  the  Iroquois  to  deliver  their  prisoners 
to  him,  and  make  no  treaty  with  Frontenac.  On 
the  same  clay,  he  despatched  Captain  John  Schuyler 
to  carry  his  letters  to  the  French  governor.  When 
Schuyler  reached  Quebec,  and  delivered  the  letters, 
Frontenac  read  them  with  marks  of  great  dis- 
pleasure. "  My  Lord  Bellomont  threatens  me," 
he  said.  "  Does  he  think  that  I  am  afraid  of  him  ? 
He  claims  the  Iroquois,  but  they  are  none  of  his. 
They  call  me  father*  and  they  call  him  brother; 
and  shall  not  a  father  chastise  his  children  when 
he  sees  fit  ?  "  A  conversation  followed,  in  which 
Frontenac  asked  the  envoy  what  was  the  strength 
of  Bellomont's  government.  Schuyler  parried  the 
question  by  a  grotesque  exaggeration,  and  an- 
swered that  the  earl  could  bring  about  a  hundred 
thousand  men  into  the  field.  Frontenac  pretended 
to  believe  him,  and  returned  with  careless  gravity 
that  he  had  always  heard  so. 


426        FRONTENAC  ATTACKS   THE  OXOXDAGAS.         [1698. 

The  following  Sunday  was  the  clay  appointed 
for  the  Te  Deum  ordered  by  the  king ;  and  all  the 
dignitaries  of  the  colony,  with  a  crowd  of  lesser  note, 
filled  the  cathedral.  There  was  a  dinner  of  cere- 
mony at  the  chateau,  to  which  Schuyler  was  invited  ; 
and  he  found  the  table  of  the  governor  thronged 
with  officers.  Frontenac  called  on  his  guests  to 
drink  the  health  of  King  William.  Schuyler  re- 
plied by  a  toast  in  honor  of  King  Louis ;  and  the 
governor  next  gave  the  health  of  the  Earl  of  Bello- 
mont.  The  peace  was  then  solemnly  proclaimed, 
amid  the  firing  of  cannon  from  the  batteries  and 
ships ;  and  the  clay  closed  with  a  bonfire  and  a  general 
illumination.  On  the  next  evening,  Frontenac  gave 
Schuyler  a  letter  in  answer  to  the  threats  of  the 
earl.  He  had  written  with  trembling  hand,  but 
unshaken  will  and  unbending  pride :  — 

"  I  am  determined  to  pursue  my  course  without 
flinching  ;  and  I  request  you  not  to  try  to  thwart  me 
by  efforts  which  will  prove  useless.  All  the  pro- 
tection and  aid  you  tell  me  that  you  have  given, 
and  will  continue  to  give,  the  Iroquois,  against  the 
terms  of  the  treaty,  will  not  cause  me  much  alarm, 
nor  make  me  change  my  plans,  but  rather,  on  the 
contrary,  engage  me  to  pursue  them  still  more."  1 

1  On  the  questions  between  Bellomont  and  Frontenac,  Relation  de  ce 
qui  s'est  passe',  etc.,  1697,  1698;  Champigny  au  Ministre,  12  Juillet,  1698; 
Frontenac  au  Ministre,  18  Oct.,  1698;  Frontenac  et  Champigny  au  Ministre 
[lettre  commune),  15  Oct.,  1698  ;  Callieres  au  Ministre,  mime  date,  etc.  The 
correspondence  of  Frontenac  and  Bellomont,  the  report  of  Peter  Schuy- 
ler and  Dellius,  the  journal  of  John  Schuyler,  and  other  papers  on  the 
same  subjects,  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.  John  Schuyler  was 
grandfather  of  General  Schuyler  of  the  American  Revolution.  Peter 
Schuyler  and  his  colleague  Dellius  brought  to  Canada  all  the  French 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  English  of  New  York,  and  asked  for  English 


1698.]  A   LAST  DEFIANCE.  427 

As  the  old  soldier  traced  these  lines,  the  shadow 
of  death  was  upon  him.  Toils  and  years,  passions 
and  cares,  had  wasted  his  strength  at  last,  and  his 
fiery  soul  could  bear  him  up  no  longer.  A  few 
weeks  later  he  was  lying  calmly  on  his  death- 
bed. 

prisoners  in  return  ;  but  nearly  all  of  these  preferred  to  remain,  a  remark- 
able proof  of  the  kindness  with  which  the  Canadians  treated  their  civil- 
ized captives. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

1698. 

DEATH   OF  FRONTENAC. 

His  Last  Hours.  —  His  Will.  —  His  Funeral.  —  His  Eulogist 
and  his  Critic.  —  His  Disputes  with  the  Clergy.  —  His  Char- 
acter. 

In  November,  when  the  last  ship  had  gone,  and 
Canada  was  sealed  from  the  world  for  half  a  year, 
a  mortal  illness  fell  upon  the  governor.  On  the 
twenty-second,  he  had  strength  enough  to  dictate 
his  will,  seated  in  an  easy-chair  in  his  chamber  at 
the  chateau.  His  colleague  and  adversary,  Cham- 
pigny,  often  came  to  visit  him,  and  did  all  in  his 
power  to  soothe  his  last  moments.  The  reconcilia- 
tion between  them  was  complete.  One  of  his 
Recollet  friends,  Father  Olivier  Goyer,  administered 
extreme  unction ;  and,  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
twenty-eighth,  he  died,  in  perfect  composure  and 
full  possession  of  his  faculties.  He  was  in  his 
seventy-eighth  year. 

He  was  greatly  beloved  by  the  humbler  classes, 
who,  days  before  his  death,  beset  the  chateau, 
praising  and  lamenting  him.  Many  of  higher 
station  shared  the  popular  grief.  "  He  was  the 
love  and    delight  of   New  France,"   says   one   of 


1698.]  HIS  LAST  HOURS.  429 

them :  "  churchmen  honored  him  for  his  piety, 
nobles  esteemed  him  for  his  valor,  merchants  re- 
spected him  for  his  equity,  and  the  people  loved 
him  for  his  kindness."  1  "  He  was  the  father  of 
the  poor,"  says  another,  "  the  protector  of  the 
oppressed,  and  a  perfect  model  of  virtue  and 
piety." 2  An  Ursuline  nun  regrets  him  as  the 
friend  and  patron  of  her  sisterhood,  and  so  also 
does  the  superior  of  the  Hotel-Dieu.3  His  most 
conspicuous  though  not  his  bitterest  opponent,  the 
intenclant  Champigny,  thus  announced  his  death 
to  the  court :  "  I  venture  to  send  this  letter  by 
way  of  New  England  to  tell  you  that  Monsieur  le 
Comte  de  Frontenac  died  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
last  month,  with  the  sentiments  of  a  true  Christian. 
After  all  the  disputes  we  have  had  together,  you 
will  hardly  believe,  Monseigneur,  how  truly  and 
deeply  I  am  touched  by  his  death.  He  treated  me 
during  his  illness  in  a  manner  so  obliging,  that  I 
should  be  utterly  void  of  gratitude  if  I  did  not 
feel  thankful  to  him."  4 

As  a  mark  of  kind  feeling,  Frontenac  had  be- 
queathed to  the  intenclant  a  valuable  crucifix,  and  to 
Madame  de  Champigny  a  reliquary  which  he  had  long 
been  accustomed  to  wear.  For  the  rest,  he  gave  fif- 
teen hundred  livres  to  the  Eecollets,  to  be  expended 
in  masses  for  his  soul,  and  that  of  his  wife  after  her 
death.     To  her  he  bequeathed  all  the  remainder  of 


i  La  Potherie,  I.  244,  246. 

2  Hennepin,  41  (1704).     Le  Clerc  speaks  to  the  same  effect. 

3  Histoire  des  Ursulines  de  Quebec,  I.  508 ;  Juchereau,  378. 
*  Champigny  au  Mimstre,  22  Dec,  1698. 


430  DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1698. 

his  small  property,  and  he  also  directed  that  his 
heart  should  be  sent  her  in  a  case  of  lead  or  silver.1 
His  enemies  reported  that  she  refused  to  accept  it, 
saying  that  she  had  never  had  it  when  he  was 
living,  and  did  not  want  it  when  he  was  dead. 

On  the  Friday  after  his  death,  he  was  buried  as 
he  had  directed,  not  in  the  cathedral,  but  in  the 
church  of  the  Recollets,  a  preference  deeply  offen- 
sive to  many  of  the  clergy.  The  bishop  officiated ; 
and  then  the  Recollet,  Father  Goyer,  who  had 
attended  his  death-bed,  and  seems  to  have  been  his 
confessor,  mounted  the  pulpit,  and  delivered  his 
funeral  oration.  "  This  funeral  pageantry,"  ex- 
claimed the  orator,  "  this  temple  draped  in  mourn- 
ing, these  dim  lights,  this  sad  and  solemn  music, 
this  great  assembly  bowed  in  sorrow,  and  all  this 
pomp  and  circumstance  of  death,  may  well  pene- 
trate your  hearts.  I  will  not  seek  to  dry  your 
tears,  for  I  cannot  contain  my  own.  After  all, 
this  is  a  time  to  weep,  and  never  did  people  weep 
for  a  better  governor." 

A  copy  of  this  eulogy  fell  into  the  hands  of  an 
enemy  of  Frontenac,  who  wrote  a  running  com- 
mentary upon  it.  The  copy  thus  annotated  is  still 
preserved  at  Quebec.  A  few  passages  from  the 
orator  and  his  critic  will  show  the  violent  conflict 
of  opinion  concerning  the  governor,  and  illustrate 
in  some  sort,  though  with  more  force  than  fairness, 
the  contradictions  of  his  character  :  — 

1  Testament  du  Comte  de  Frontenac.  I  am  indebted  to  Abbe'  Bois  of 
Maskinonge  for  a  copy  of  this  will.  Frontenac  expresses  a  wish  that  the 
heart  should  be  placed  in  the  family  tomb  at  the  Church  of  St.  Nicolas 
des  Champs. 


1698.]       .         HIS  EULOGIST   AND  HIS   CKITIC.  431 

The  Orator.  "  This  wise  man,  to  whom  the 
Senate  of  Venice  listened  with  respectful  atten- 
tion, because  he  spoke  before  them  with  all  the 
force  of  that  eloquence  which  you,  Messieurs,  have 
so  often  admired,  —  1 

The  Critic.  u  It  was  not  his  eloquence  that  they  admired, 
but  his  extravagant  pretensions,  his  bursts  of  rage,  and  his  un- 
worthy treatment  of  those  who  did  not  agree  with  him." 

The    Orator.    u  This    disinterested   man,   more 
busied  with  duty  than  with  gain, — 
The  Critic.  "  The  less  said  about  that  the  better." 

The  Orator.  "  Who  made  the  fortune  of  others, 
but  did  not  increase  his  own,  — 

The  Critic.  "  Not  for  want  of  trying,  and  that  very  often 
in  spite  of  his  conscience  and  the  king's  orders." 

The  Orator.  "Devoted  to  tfce  service  of  his 
king,  whose  majesty  he  represented,  and  whose 
person  he  loved,  —  • 

The  Critic.  "Not  at  all.  How  often  has  he  opposed  his 
orders,  even  with  force  and  violence,  to  the  great  scandal  of 
everybody ! " 

The  Orator.  "  Great  in  the  midst  of  difficulties, 
by  that  consummate  prudence,  that  solid  judgment, 
that  presence  of  mind,  that  breadth  and  elevation 
of  thought,  which  he  retained  to  the  last  moment 
of  his  life 


The  Critic.  "  He  had  in  fact  a  great  capacity  for  political 
manoeuvres  and  tricks  ;  but  as  for  the  solid  judgment  ascribed  to 

1  Alluding  to  an  incident  that  occurred  when  Frontenac  commanded 
a  Venetian  force  for  the  defence  of  Candia  against  the  Turks. 


432  DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1693. 

him,  his  conduct  gives  it  the  lie,  or  else,  if  he  had  it,  the 
vehemence  of  his  passions  often  unsettled  it.  It  is  much  to  be 
feared  that  his  presence  of  mind  was  the  effect  of  an  obstinate 
and  hardened  self-confidence  by  which  he  put  himself  above 
everybody  and  every  thing,  since  he  never  used  it  to  repair,  so 
far  as  in  him  lay,  the  public  and  private  wrongs  he  caused. 
What  ought  he  not  to  have  done  here,  in  this  temple,  to  ask 
pardon  for  the  obstinate  and  furious  heat  with  which  he  so  long 
persecuted  the  Church  ;  upheld  and  even  instigated  rebellion 
against  her ;  protected  libertines,  scandal-mongers,  and  creatures 
of  evil  life  against  the  ministers  of  Heaven ;  molested,  perse- 
cuted, vexed  persons  most  eminent  in  virtue,  nay,  even  the 
priests  and  magistrates,  who  defended  the  cause  of  God ;  sus- 
tained in  all  sorts  of  ways  the  wrongful  and  scandalous  traffic  in 
brandy  with  the  Indians  ;  permitted,  approved,  and  supported 
the  license  and  abuse  of  taverns  ;  authorized  and  even  intro- 
duced, in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  servants  of  God, 
criminal  and  dangerous  diversions  ;  tried  to  decry  the  bishop  and 
the  clergy,  the  missionaries,  and  other  persons  of  virtue,  and  to 
injure  them,  both  here  and  in  France,  by  libels  and  calumnies ; 
caused,  in  fine,  either  by  himself  or  through  others,  a  multitude 
of  disorders,  under  which  this  infant  church  has  groaned  for 
many  years  !  What,  I  say,  ought  he  not  to  have  done  before 
dying  to  atone  for  these  scandals,  and  give  proof  of  sincere  peni- 
tence and  compunction  ?  God  gave  him  full  time  to  recognize  his 
errors,  and  yet  to  the  last  he  showed  a  great  indifference  in  all 
these  matters.  When,  in  presence  of  the  Holy  Sacrament,  he 
was  asked  according  to  the  ritual,  '  Do  you  not  beg  pardon  for 
all  the  ill  examples  you  may  have  given  ? '  he  answered,  '  Yes,' 
but  did  not  confess  that  he  had  ever  given  any.  In  a  word,  he 
behaved  during  the  few  days  before  his  death  like  one  who  had 
led  an  irreproachable  life,  and  had  nothing  to  fear.  And  this  is 
the  presence  of  mind  that  he  retained  to  his  last  moment ! " 

The  Orator.  "  Great  in  dangers  by  his  courage, 
he  always  came  off  with  honor,  and  never  was  re- 
proached with  rashness,  — 

The  Critic.  "  True  ;  he  was  not  rash,  as  was  seen  when  the 
Bostonnais  besieged  Quebec." 


1698.]  HIS  EULOGIST  AND  HIS   CRITIC.  433 

The  Orator.  "  Great  in  religion  by  his  piety,  he 
practised  its  good  works  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  — 

The  Critic.  "Say  rather  that  he  practised  its  forms  with 
parade  and  ostentation :  witness  the  inordinate  ambition  with 
which  he  always  claimed  honors  in  the  Church,  to  which  he  had 
no  right ;  outrageously  affronted  intendants,  who  opposed  his 
pretensions  ;  required  priests  to  address  him  when  preaching,  and 
in  their  intercourse  with  him  demanded  from  them  humiliations 
which  he  did  not  exact  from  the  meanest  military  officer.  This 
was  his  way  of  making  himself  great  in  religion  and  piety,  or, 
more  truly,  in  vanity  and  hypocrisy.  How  can  a  man  be  called 
great  in  religion,  when  he  openly  holds  opinions  entirely  opposed 
to  the  True  Faith,  such  as,  that  all  men  are  predestined,  that 
Hell  will  not  last  for  ever,  and  the  like  ?  " 

The  Orator.  "  His  very  look  inspired  esteem  and 
confidence,  — 

The  Critic.  "  Then  one  must  have  taken  him  at  exactly  the 
right  moment,  and  not  when  he  was  foaming  at  the  mouth  with 
rage." 

The  Orator.  "  A  mingled  air  of  nobility  and 
gentleness;  a  countenance  that  bespoke  the  pro- 
bity that  appeared  in  all  his  acts,  and  a  sincerity 
that  could  not  dissimulate,  — 

The  Critic.    "  The  eulogist  did  not  know  the  old  fox." 

The  Orator.  "  An  inviolable  fidelity  to  friends,  — 

The  Critic.  "  What  friends?  Was  it  persons  of  the  other 
sex  ?  Of  these  he  was  always  fond,  and  too  much  for  the  honor 
of  some  of  them." 

The  Orator.  "  Disinterested  for  himself,  ardent 
for  others,  he  used  his  credit  at  court  only  to 
recommend  their  services,  excuse  their  faults,  and 
obtain  favors  for  them,  — 

28 


434  DEATH  OF  FRONTEXAC.  [1698. 

The  Critic.  "  True ;  but  it  was  for  his  creatures  and  for 
nobody  else." 

The  Orator.  "  I  pass  in  silence  that  reading  of 
spiritual  books  which  he  practised  as  an  indispen- 
sable duty  more  than  forty  years ;  that  holy  avidity 
with  which  he  listened  to  the  word  of  God,  — 

The  Critic.  "  Only  if  the  preacher  addressed  the  sermon  to 
him,  and  called  him  Monseigneur.  As  for  his  reading,  it  was 
often  Jansenist  books,  of  which  he  had  a  great  many,  and  which 
he  greatly  praised  and  lent  freely  to  others." 

The  Orator.  "  He  prepared  for  the  sacraments 
by  meditation  and  retreat,  — 

The  Critic.  "  And  generally  came  out  of  his  retreat  more 
excited  than  ever  against  the  Church." 

The  Orator.  "  Let  us  not  recall  his  ancient  and 
noble  descent,  his  family  connected  with  all  that  is 
greatest  in  the  army,  the  magistracy,  and  the 
government ;  Knights,  Marshals  of  France,  Gov- 
ernors of  Provinces,  Judges,  Councillors,  and  Min- 
isters of  State  :  let  us  not,  I  say,  recall  all  these 
without  remembering  that  their  examples  roused 
this  generous  heart  to  noble  emulation  ;  and,  as  an 
expiring  flame  grows  brighter  as  it  dies,  so  did  all 
the  virtues  of  his  race  unite  at  last  in  him  to  end 
with  glory  a  long  line  of  great  men,  that  shall  be 
no  more  except  in  history." 

The  Critic.  "  Well  laid  on,  and  too  well  for  his  hearers  to 
believe  him.  Far  from  agreeing  that  all  these  virtues  were  col- 
lected in  the  person  of  his  pretended  hero,  they  would  find  it 
very  hard  to  admit  that  he  had  even  one  of  them." x 

1  Oraison  Funebre  du  tres-hant  et  t res-puissant  Seigneur  Louis  de  Bnade, 
Comte  de  Frontenuc  et  de  Palluau,  etc.,  avec  des  remarques  critiques,  1698. 


1698.]  HIS  DISPUTES   WITH   THE   CLERGY.  435 

It  is  clear  enough  from  what  quiver  these  arrows 
came.  From  the  first,  Frontenac  had  set  himself 
in  opposition  to  the  most  influential  of  the  Cana- 
dian clergy.  When  he  came  to  the  colony,  their 
power  in  the  government  was  still  enormous,  and 
even  the  most  devout  of  his  predecessors  had  been 
forced  into  conflict  with  them  to  defend  the  civil 
authority ;  but,  when  Frontenac  entered  the  strife, 
he  brought  into  it  an  irritability,  a  jealous  and 
exacting  vanity,  a  love  of  rule,  and  a  passion  for 
having  his  own  way,  even  in  trifles,  which  made 
him  the  most  exasperating  of  adversaries.  Hence 
it  was  that  many  of  the  clerical  party  felt  towards 
him  a  bitterness  that  was  far  from  ending  with  his 
life. 

The  sentiment  of  a  religion  often  survives  its 
convictions.  However  heterodox  in  doctrine,  he 
was  still  wedded  to  the  observances  of  the  Church, 
and  practised  them,  under  the  ministration  of  the 
Recollets,  with  an  assiduity  that  made  full  amends 
to  his  conscience  for  the  vivacity  with  which  he 
opposed  the  rest  of  the  clergy.  To  the  Recollets 
their  patron  was  the  most  devout  of  men ;  to  his 
ultramontane  adversaries,  he  was  an  impious  per- 
secutor. 

His  own  acts  and  words  best  paint  his  character, 
and  it  is  needless  to  enlarge  upon  it.     What  per- 


That  indefatigable  investigator  of  Canadian  history,  the  late  M.  Jacques 
Viger,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of  this  eulogy,  suggested  that 
the  anonymous  critic  may  have  been  Abbe  la  Tour,  author  of  the  Vie  de 
Laval.  If  so,  his  statements  need  the  support  of  more  trustworthy  evi- 
dence. The  above  extracts  are  not  consecutive,  but  are  taken  from  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  manuscript. 


436  DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1698. 

haps  may  be  least  forgiven  him  is  the  barbarity  of 
the  warfare  that  he  waged,  and  the  cruelties  that  he 
permitted.  He  had  seen  too  many  towns  sacked 
to  be  much  subject  to  the  scruples  of  modern 
humanitarianism ;  yet  he  was  no  whit  more  ruth- 
less than  his  times  and  his  surroundings,  and  some 
of  his  contemporaries  find  fault  with  him  for  not 
allowing  more  Indian  captives  to  be  tortured. 
Many  surpassed  him  in  cruelty,  none  equalled  him 
in  capacity  and  vigor.  When  civilized  enemies 
were  once  within  his  power,  he  treated  them,  ac- 
cording to  their  degree,  with  a  chivalrous  courtesy, 
or  a  generous  kindness.  If  he  was  a  hot  and  per- 
tinacious foe,  he  was  also  a  fast  friend ;  and  he 
excited  love  and  hatred  in  about  equal  measure. 
His  attitude  towards  public  enemies  was  always 
proud  and  peremptory,  yet  his  courage  was 
guided  by  so  clear  a  sagacity  that  he  never  was 
forced  to  recede  from  the  position  he  had  taken. 
Towards  Indians,  he  was  an  admirable  compound 
of  sternness  and  conciliation.  Of  the  immensity 
of  his  services  to  the  colony  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
He  found  it,  under  Denonville,  in  humiliation 
and  terror ;  and  he  left  it  in  honor,  and  almost  in 
triumph. 

In  spite  of  Father  Goyer,  greatness  must  be  de- 
nied him ;  but  a  more  remarkable  figure,  in  its 
bold  and  salient  individuality  and  sharply  marked 
light  and  shadow,  is  nowhere  seen  in  American 
history.1 

1  There  is  no  need  to  exaggerate  the  services  of  Frontenac.  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  fallacious  than  the  assertion,  often  repeated,  that  in 


1698.]  INACTION  OF   THE  ENGLISH.  437 

his  time  Canada  withstood  the  united  force  of  all  the  British  colonies. 
Most  of  these  colonies  took  no  part  whatever  in  the  war.  Only  two  of 
them  took  an  aggressive  part,  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  New 
York  attacked  Canada  twice,  with  the  two  inconsiderable  war-parties  of 
John  Schuyler  in  1690  and  of  Peter  Schuyler  in  the  next  year.  The 
feeble  expedition  under  Winthrop  did  not  get  beyond  Lake  George. 
Massachusetts,  or  rather  her  seaboard  towns,  attacked  Canada  once. 
Quebec,  it  is  true,  was  kept  in  alarm  during  several  years  by  rumors 
of  another  attack  from  the  same  quarter ;  but  no  such  danger  existed, 
as  Massachusetts  was  exhausted  by  her  first  effort.  The  real  scourge 
of  Canada  was  the  Iroquois,  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition  from 
Albany. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

1699-1701. 
CONCLUSION. 

The  New  Governor.  —  Attitude  of  the  Iroquois.  —  Negotia- 
tions.—  Embassy  to  Onondaga. —  Peace.  —  The  Iroquois  axd 
the  Allies. — Difficulties.  —  Death  of  the  Great  Huron-. — 
Funeral  Rites. — The  Grand  Council.  —  The  Work  of  Frox- 
tenac  finished.  —  Results. 

It  did  not  need  the  presence  of  Frontenac  to 
cause  snappings  and  sparks  in  the  highly  electrical 
atmosphere  of  New  France.  Callieres  took  his 
place  as  governor  ad  interim,  and  in  due  time  re- 
ceived a  formal  appointment  to  the  office.  Apart 
from  the  wretched  state  of  his  health,  undermined 
by  gout  and  dropsy,  he  was  in  most  respects  well 
fitted  for  it ;  but  his  deportment  at  once  gave  um- 
brage to  the  excitable  Champigny,  who  declared 
that  he  had  never  seen  such  hauteur  since  he  came 
to  the  colony.  Another  official  was  still  more 
offended.  "  Monsieur  de  Frontenac,"  he  says, 
"  was  no  sooner  dead  than  trouble  began.  Mon- 
sieur cle  Callieres,  puffed  up  by  his  new  authority, 
claims  honors  due  only  to  a  marshal  of  France.  It 
would  be  a  different  matter  if  he,  like  his  prede- 
cessor, were  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  country, 
and  the  love  and  delight  of  the  Indian  allies.     At 


1699.]  THE   IROQUOIS   QUESTION.  439 

the  review  at  Montreal,  he  sat  in  his  carriage,  and 
received  the  incense  offered  him  with  as  much 
composure  and  coolness  as  if  he  had  been  some 
divinity  of  this  New  World."  In  spite  of  these 
complaints,  the  court  sustained  Callieres,  and  au- 
thorized him  to  enjoy  the  honors  that  he  had  as- 
sumed.1 

His  first  and  chief  task  was  to  finish  the  work 
that  Frontenac  had  shaped  out,  and  bring  the  Iro- 
quois to  such  submission  as  the  interests  of  the 
colony  and  its  allies  demanded.  The  fierce  con- 
federates admired  the  late  governor,  and,  if  they 
themselves  are  to  be  believed,  could  not  help 
lamenting  him ;  but  they  were  emboldened  by 
his  death,  and  the  difficulty  of  dealing  with  them 
was  increased  by  it.  Had  they  been  sure  of  effect- 
ual support  from  the  English,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  they  would  have  refused  to  treat  with 
the  French,  of  whom  their  distrust  was  extreme. 
The  treachery  of  Denonville  at  Fort  Frontenac 
still  rankled  in  their  hearts,  and  the  English  had 
made  them  believe  that  some  of  their  best  men 
had  lately  been  poisoned  by  agents  from  Montreal. 
The  French  assured  them,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
the  English  meant  to  poison  them,  refuse  to  sell 
them  powder  and  lead,  and  then,  when  they  were 
helpless,  fall  upon  and  destroy  them.  At  Montreal, 
they  were  told  that  the  English  called  them  their 
negroes  ;  and,  at  Albany,  that  if  they  made  peace 
with  Onontio,  they  would  sink  into  "  perpetual  in- 

1  Chompigny  au  Ministre,  26  Mai,  1699  ;  La  Potherie  au  Ministre,  2 
Juin,  1699 ;    Vaudreuil  et  La  Potherie  au  Ministre,  me  me  date. 


440  CONCLUSION.  [1699. 

famy  and  slavery."  Still,  in  spite  of  their  per- 
plexity, they  persisted  in  asserting  their  indepen- 
dence of  each  of  the  rival  powers,  and  played  the 
one  against  the  other,  in  order  to  strengthen  their 
position  with  both.  When  Bellomont  required 
them  to  surrender  their  French  prisoners  to  him, 
they  answered  :  "  We  are  the  masters ;  our  prison- 
ers are  our  own.  We  will  keep  them  or  give  them 
to  the  French,  if  we  choose."  At  the  same  time, 
they  told  Callieres  that  they  would  bring  them  to  the 
English  at  Albany,  and  invited  him  to  send  thither 
his  agents  to  receive  them.  They  were  much 
disconcerted,  however,  when  letters  were  read  to 
them  which  showed  that,  pending  the  action  of 
commissioners  to  settle  the  dispute,  the  two  kings 
had  ordered  their  respective  governors  to  refrain 
from  all  acts  of  hostility,  and  join  forces,  if  neces- 
sary, to  compel  the  Iroquois  to  keep  quiet.1  This, 
with  their  enormous  losses,  and  their  desire  to  re- 
cover their  people  held  captive  in  Canada,  led  them 
at  last  to  serious  thoughts  of  peace.  Resolving  at 
the  same  time  to  try  the  temper  of  the  new  Onon- 
tio,  and  yield  no  more  than  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary, they  sent  him  but  six  ambassadors,  and  no 
prisoners.  The  ambassadors  inarched  in  single  file 
to  the  place  of  council ;  while  their  chief,  who  led 
the  way,  sang  a  dismal  soup:  of  lamentation  for  the 
French  slain  in  the  war,  calling  on  them  to  thrust 
their  heads  above  ground,  behold  the  good  work 

1  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  25  Mars,  1699.  Frontenac's  death  was  not 
known  at  Versailles  till  April.  Le  Roy  d' Angleterre  a  Bellomont,  2  Avril, 
1699 ;  La  Potherie,  IV.  128  ;   Callieres  a  Bellomont,  7  Aout,  1699. 


1700.]  NEGOTIATIONS.  441 

of  peace,  and  banish  every  thought  of  vengeance. 
Callieres  proved,  as  they  had  hoped,  less  inexorable 
than  Frontenac.  He  accepted  their  promises,  and 
consented  to  send  for  the  prisoners  in  their  hands, 
on  condition  that  within  thirty-six  clays  a  full 
deputation  of  their  principal  men  should  come  to 
Montreal.  The  Jesuit  Bruyas,  the  Canadian  Mari- 
court,  and  a  French  officer  named  Joncaire  went 
back  with  them  to  receive  the  prisoners. 

The  history  of  Joncaire  was  a  noteworthy  one. 
The  Senecas  had  captured  him  some  time  before, 
tortured  his  companions  to  death,  and  doomed  him 
to  the  same  fate.  As  a  preliminary  torment,  an 
old  chief  tried  to  burn  a  finger  of  the  captive  in 
the  bowl  of  his  pipe,  on  which  Joncaire  knocked 
him  clown.  If  he  had  begged  for  mercy,  their 
hearts  would  have  been  flint ;  but  the  warrior  crowd 
were  so  pleased  with  this  proof  of  courage  that 
they  adopted  him  as  one  of  their  tribe,  and  gave 
him  an  Iroquois  wife.  He  lived  among  them  for 
many  years,  and  gained  a  commanding  influence, 
which  proved  very  useful  to  the  French.  When 
he,  with  Bruyas  and  Maricourt,  approached  Onon- 
daga, which  had  long  before  risen  from  its  ashes, 
they  were  greeted  with  a  fusillade  of  joy,  and  re- 
galed with  the  sweet  stalks  of  young  maize,  fol- 
lowed by  the  more  substantial  refreshment  of 
venison  and  corn  beaten  together  into  a  pulp  and 
boiled.  The  chiefs  and  elders  seemed  well  inclined 
to  peace ;  and,  though  an  envoy  came  from  Albany 
to  prevent  it,  he  behaved  with  such  arrogance 
that,  far  from  dissuading  his  auditors,  he  confirmed 


442  CONCLUSION.  [1700. 

them  in  their  resolve  to  meet  Onontio  at  Montreal. 
They  seemed  willing  enough  to  give  up  their 
French  prisoners,  but  an  unexpected  difficulty 
arose  from  the  prisoners  themselves.  They  had 
been  adopted  into  Iroquois  families ;  and,  having 
become  attached  to  the  Indian  life,  they  would  not 
leave  it.  Some  of  them  hid  in  the  woods  to  escape 
their  deliverers,  who,  with  their  best  efforts,  could 
collect  but  thirteen,  all  women,  children,  and  boys. 
With  these,  they  returned  to  Montreal,  accompanied 
by  a  peace  embassy  of  nineteen  Iroquois. 

Peace,  then,  was  made.  "  I  bury  the  hatchet,'* 
said  Callieres,  "  in  a  deep  hole,  and  over  the  hole 
I  place  a  great  rock,  and  over  the  rock  I  turn  a 
river,  that  the  hatchet  may  never  be  dug  up  again. " 
The  famous  Huron,  Kondiaronk,  or  the  Rat,  was 
present,  as  were  also  a  few  Ottawas,  Abenakis,  and 
converts  of  the  Saut  and  the  Mountain.  Sharp 
words  passed  between  them  and  the  ambassadors ; 
but  at  last  they  all  laid  down  their  hatchets  at  the 
feet  of  Onontio,  and  signed  the  treaty  together. 
It  was  but  a  truce,  and  a  doubtful  one.  More  was 
needed  to  confirm  it,  and  the  following  August 
was  named  for  a  solemn  act  of  ratification.1 

Father  Engelran  was  sent  to  Michillimackinac, 
while  Courtemanche  spent  the  winter  and  spring 
in  toilsome  journeyings  among  the  tribes  of  the 

1  On  these  negotiations,  La  Potherie,  IV.  lettrexi.;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
IX.  708,711,715;  Colden,  200;  Callieres  au  Ministre,  16  Oct.,  1700; 
Champigny  au  Ministre,  22  Juillet,  1700;  La  Potherie  au  Mhiistre,  11 
Aout,  1700;  Ibid.,  16  Oct.,  1700;  Callieres  et  Champigny  au  Ministre,  18 
Oct.,  1700.  See  also  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.,  for  a  great  number  of  Eng- 
lish documents  bearing  on  the  subject. 


1701.]  THE  IROQUOIS  AND  THE  ALLIES.  443 

west.  Such  was  his  influence  over  them  that  he 
persuaded  them  all  to  give  up  their  Iroquois 
prisoners,  and  send  deputies  to  the  grand  council. 
Engelran  had  had  scarcely  less  success  among  the 
northern  tribes ;  and  early  in  July  a  great  fleet  of 
canoes,  conducted  by  Courtemanche,  and  filled  with 
chiefs,  warriors,  and  Iroquois  prisoners,  paddled 
down  the  lakes  for  Montreal.  Meanwhile  Bruyas, 
Maricourt,  and  Joncaire  had  returned  on  the  same 
errand  to  the  Iroquois  towns  •  but,  so  far  as  con- 
cerned prisoners,  their  success  was  no  greater  than 
before.  Whether  French  or  Indian,  the  chiefs 
were  slow  to  give  them  up,  saying  that  they  had 
all  been  adopted  into  families  who  would  not  part 
with  them  unless  consoled  for  the  loss  by  gifts. 
This  was  true ;  but  it  was  equally  true  of  the  other 
tribes,  whose  chiefs  had  made  the  necessary  gifts, 
and  recovered  the  captive  Iroquois.  Joncaire  and 
his  colleagues  succeeded,  however,  in  leading  a 
large  deputation  of  chiefs  and  elders  to  Montreal. 
Courtemanche  with  his  canoe  fleet  from  the  lakes 
was  not  far  behind  ;  and  when  their  approach  was 
announced,  the  chronicler,  La  Potherie,  full  of 
curiosity,  went  to  meet  them  at  the  mission  village 
of  the  Saut.  First  appeared  the  Iroquois,  two 
hundred  in  all,  firing  their  guns  as  their  canoes 
drew  near,  while  the  mission  Indians,  ranged  along 
the  shore,  returned  the  salute.  The  ambassadors 
were  conducted  to  a  capacious  lodge,  where  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  they  sat  smoking  with  immov- 
able composure.  Then  a  chief  of  the  mission  made 
a  speech,  and  then  followed  a  feast  of  boiled  dogs. 


444  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

In  the  morning  they  descended  the  rapids  to  Mont- 
real, and  in  due  time  the  distant  roar  of  the 
saluting  cannon  told  of  their  arrival. 

They  had  scarcely  left  the  village,  when  the  river 
was  covered  with  the  canoes  of  the  western  and 
northern  allies.  There  was  another  fusillade  of 
welcome  as  the  heterogeneous  company  landed, 
and  marched  to  the  great  council-house.  The 
calumet  was  produced,  and  twelve  of  the  assembled 
chiefs  sang  a  song,  each  rattling  at  the  same  time 
a  dried  gourd  half  full  of  peas.  Six  large  kettles 
were  next  brought  in,  containing  several  dogs 
and  a  bear  suitably  chopped  to  pieces,  which  being 
ladled  out  to  the  guests  were  despatched  in  an  in- 
stant, and  a  solemn  dance  and  a  supper  of  boiled 
corn  closed  the  festivity. 

The  strangers  embarked  again  on  the  next  day, 
and  the  cannon  of  Montreal  greeted  them  as  they 
landed  before  the  town.  A  great  quantity  of  ever- 
green boughs  had  been  gathered  for  their  use,  and 
of  these  they  made  their  wigwams  outside  the 
palisades.  Before  the  opening  of  the  grand  coun- 
cil, a  multitude  of  questions  must  be  settled,  jeal- 
ousies soothed,  and  complaints  answered.  Callieres 
had  no  peace.  He  was  busied  for  a  week  in  giving 
audience  to  the  deputies.  There  was  one  ques- 
tion which  agitated  them  all,  and  threatened  to 
rekindle  the  war.  Kondiaronk,  the  Eat,  the 
foremost  man  among  all  the  allied  tribes,  gave 
utterance  to  the  general  feeling  :  "  My  father,  you 
told  us  last  autumn  to  bring  you  all  the  Iroquois 
prisoners   in   our  hands.     We   have   obeyed,  and 


1701.1  SPEECH  OF  THE   RAT.  445 

brought  them.  Now  let  us  see  if  the  Iroquois  have 
also  obeyed,  and  brought  you  our  people  whom 
they  captured  during  the  war.  If  they  have  clone 
so,  they  are  sincere  ;  if  not,  they  are  false.  But  I 
know  that  they  have  not  brought  them.  I  told 
you  last  year  that  it  was  better  that  they  should 
bring  their  prisoners  first.  You  see  now  how  it  is, 
and  how  they  have  deceived  us." 

The  complaint  was  just,  and  the  situation  became 
critical.  The  Iroquois  deputies  were  invited  to 
explain  themselves.  They  stalked  into  the  council- 
room  with  their  usual  haughty  composure,  and 
readily  promised  to  surrender  the  prisoners  in 
future,  but  offered  no  hostages  for  their  good  faith. 
The  Rat,  who  had  counselled  his  own  and  other 
tribes  to  bring  their  Iroquois  captives  to  Montreal, 
was  excessively  mortified  at  finding  himself  duped. 
He  came  to  a  later  meeting,  when  this  and  other 
matters  were  to  be  discussed ;  but  he  was  so  weak- 
ened by  fever  that  he  could  not  stand.  An  arm- 
chair was  brought  him ;  and,  seated  in  it,  he 
harangued  the  assembly  for  two  hours,  amid  a 
deep  silence,  broken  only  by  ejaculations  of  ap- 
proval from  his  Indian  hearers.  When  the  meet- 
ing ended,  he  was  completely  exhausted  ;  and,  being 
carried  in  his  chair  to  the  hospital,  he  died  about 
midnight.  He  was  a  great  loss  to  the  French ;  for, 
though  he  had  caused  the  massacre  of  La  Chine, 
his  services  of  late  years  had  been  invaluable.  In 
spite  of  his  unlucky  name,  he  was  one  of  the  ablest 
North  American  Indians  on  record,  as  appears  by 
his  remarkable  influence  over  many  tribes,  and  by 


446  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

the  respect,  not  to  say  admiration,  of  liis  French 
contemporaries. 

The  French  charged  themselves  with  the  funeral 
rites,  carried  the  dead  chief  to  his  wigwam, 
stretched  him  on  a  robe  of  beaver  skin,  and  left 
him  there  lying  in  state,  swathed  in  a  scarlet 
blanket,  with  a  kettle,  a  gun,  and  a  sword  at  his 
side,  for  his  use  in  the  world  of  spirits.  This  was 
a  concession  to  the  superstition  of  his  countrymen  ; 
for  the  Rat  was  a  convert,  and  went  regularly  to 
mass.1  Even  the  Iroquois,  his  deadliest  foes,  paid 
tribute  to  his  memory.  Sixty  of  them  came  in 
solemn  procession,  and  ranged  themselves  around 
the  bier;  while  one  of  their  principal  chiefs  pro- 
nounced an  harangue,  in  which  he  declared  that 
the  sun  had  covered  his  face  that  day  in  grief  for 
the  loss  of  the  great  Huron.2  He  was  buried  on  the 
next  morning.  Saint-Ours,  senior  captain,  led  the 
funeral  train  with  an  escort  of  troops,  followed  by 
sixteen  Huron  warriors  in  robes  of  beaver  skin, 
marching  four  and  four,  with  faces  painted  black 
and  guns  reversed.  Then  came  the  clergy,  and 
then  six  war-chiefs  carrying  the  coffin.  It  was 
decorated  with  flowers,  and  on  it  lay  a  plumed  hat, 
a  sword,  and  a  gorget.     Behind  it  were  the  brother 

1  La  Potherie,  IV.  229.  Charlevoix  suppresses  the  kettle  and  gun, 
and  says  that  the  dead  chief  wore  a  sword  and  a  uniform,  like  a  French 
officer.  In  fact,  he  wore  Indian  leggins  and  a  capote  under  his  scarlet 
blanket. 

2  Charlevoix  says  that  these  were  Christian  Iroquois  of  the  missions. 
Potherie,  his  only  authority,  proves  them  to  have  been  heathen,  as  their 
chief  mourner  was  a  noted  Seneca,  and  their  spokesman,  Avenano,  was 
the  accredited  orator  of  the  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas, 
in  whose  name  he  made  the  funeral  harangue. 


1701.]  THE  GRAND   COUNCIL.  447 

and  sons  of  the  dead  chief,  and  files  of  Huron  and 
Ottawa  warriors  ;  while  Madame  de  Champigny, 
attended  by  Vaudreuil  and  all  the  military  officers, 
closed  the  procession.  After  the  service,  the  sol- 
diers fired  three  volleys  over  the  grave  ;  and  a  tablet 
was  placed  upon  it,  carved  with  the  words,  — 

Cy  git  le  Rat,  Chef  des  Hurons. 

All  this  ceremony  pleased  the  allied  tribes,  and 
helped  to  calm  their  irritation.  Every  obstacle 
being  at  length  removed  or  smoothed  over,  the 
fourth  of  August  was  named  for  the  grand  council. 
A  vast,  oblong  space  was  marked  out  on  a  plain 
near  the  town,  and  enclosed  with  a  fence  of 
branches.  At  one  end  was  a  canopy  of  boughs  and 
leaves,  under  which  were  seats  for  the  spectators. 
Troops  were  drawn  up  in  line  along  the  sides ;  the 
seats  under  the  canopy  were  filled  by  ladies,  officials, 
and  the  chief  inhabitants  of  Montreal ;  Callieres 
sat  in  front,  surrounded  by  interpreters ;  and  the 
Indians  were  seated  on  the  grass  around  the  open 
space.  There  were  more  than  thirteen  hundred 
of  them,  gathered  from  a  distance  of  full  two  thou- 
sand miles,  Hurons  and  Ottawas  from  Michilli- 
mackinac,  Ojibwas  from  Lake  Superior,  Crees  from 
the  remote  north,  Pottawatamies  from  Lake  Michi- 
gan, Mascontins,  Sacs,  Foxes,  Winnebagoes,  and 
Menominies  from  Wisconsin,  Miamis  from  the  St. 
Joseph,  Illinois  from  the  river  Illinois,  Abenakis 
from  Acadia,  and  many  allied  hordes  of  less  ac- 
count ;  each  savage  painted  with  diverse  hues  and 
patterns,   and    each   in    his   dress   of    ceremony, 


448  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

leathern  shirts  fringed  with  scalp-locks,  colored 
blankets  or  robes  of  bison  hide  and  beaver  skin, 
bristling  crests  of  hair  or  long  lank  tresses,  eagle 
feathers  or  horns  of  beasts.  Pre-eminent  among 
them  all  sat  their  valiant  and  terrible  foes,  the  war- 
riors of  the  confederacy.  "  Strange,"  exclaims  La 
Potherie,  "  that  four  or  five  thousand  should  make 
a  whole  new  world  tremble.  New  England  is  but 
too  happy  to  gain  their  good  graces  ;  New  France 
is  often  wasted  by  their  wars,  and  our  allies  dread 
them  over  an  extent  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
leagues."  It  was  more  a  marvel  than  he  knew,  for 
he  greatly  overrates  their  number. 

Callieres  opened  the  council  with  a  speech,  in 
which  he  told  the  assembly  that,  since  but  few 
tribes  were  represented  at  the  treaty  of  the  year 
before,  he  had  sent  for  them  all  to  ratify  it ;  that 
he  now  threw  their  hatchets  and  his  own  into  a 
pit  so  deep  that  nobody  could  find  them  ;  that 
henceforth  they  must  live  like  brethren ;  and,  if 
by  chance  one  should  strike  another,  the  injured 
brother  must  not  revenge  the  blow,  but  come  for 
redress  to  him,  Onontio,  their  common  father. 
Nicolas  Perrot  and  the  Jesuits  who  acted  as  inter- 
preters repeated  the  speech  in  five  different  lan- 
guages ;  and,  to  confirm  it,  thirty-one  wampum  belts 
were  given  to  the  thirty-one  tribes  present.  Then 
each  tribe  answered  in  turn.  First  came  Hassaki, 
chief  of  an  Ottawa  band  known  as  Cut  Tails.  He 
approached  with  a  majestic  air,  his  long  robe  of 
beaver  skin  trailing  on  the  grass  behind  him.  Four 
Iroquois  captives  followed,  with  eyes  bent  on  the 


1701.]  THE  GRAND   COUNCIL.  449 

ground  ;  and,  when  he  stopped  before  the  governor, 
they  seated  themselves  at  his  feet.  "  You  asked 
us  for  our  prisoners/'  he  said,  "  and  here  they  are. 
I  set  them  free  because  you  wish  it,  and  I  regard 
them  as  my  brothers."  Then  turning  to  the  Iro- 
quois deputies :  "  Know  that  if  I  pleased  I  might 
have  eaten  them ;  but  I  have  not  done  as  you 
would  have  done.  Eemember  this  when  we  meet, 
and  let  us  be  friends."  The  Iroquois  ejaculated 
their  approval. 

Next  came  a  Huron  chief,  followed  by  eight 
Iroquois  prisoners,  who,  as  he  declared,  had  been 
bought  at  great  cost,  in  kettles,  guns,  and  blankets, 
from  the  families  who  had  adopted  them.  "We 
thought  that  the  Iroquois  would  have  done  by  us  as 
wre  have  done  by  them  \  and  we  were  astonished 
to  see  that  they  had  not  brought  us  our  prisoners. 
Listen  to  me,  my  father,  and  you,  Iroquois,  listen. 
I  am  not  sorry  to  make  peace,  since  my  father 
wishes  it,  and  I  will  live  in  peace  with  him  and 
with  you."  Thus,  in  turn,  came  the  spokesmen  of 
all  the  tribes,  delivering  their  prisoners  and  making 
their  speeches.  The  Miami  orator  said :  "  I  am 
very  angry  with  the  Iroquois,  who  burned  my  son 
some  years  ago  ;  but  to-day  I  forget  all  that.  My 
father's  will  is  mine.  I  will  not  be  like  the  Iro- 
quois, who  have  disobeyed  his  voice."  The  orator 
of  the  Mississagas  came  forward,  crowned  with  the 
head  and  horns  of  a  young  bison  bull,  and,  pre- 
senting his  prisoners,  said  :  "  I  place  them  in  your 
hands.  Do  with  them  as  you  like.  I  am  only  too 
proud  that  you  count  me  among  your  allies." 

29 


450  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

The  chief  of  the  Foxes  now  rose  from  his  seat 
at  the  farther  end  of  the  enclosure,  and  walked 
sedately  across  the  whole  open  space  towards  the 
stand  of  spectators.  His  face  was  painted  red,  and 
he  wore  an  old  French  wig,  with  its  abundant  curls 
in  a  state  of  complete  entanglement.  When  he 
reached  the  chair  of  the  governor,  he  bowed,  and 
lifted  the  wig  like  a  hat,  to  show  that  he  was  per- 
fect in  French  politeness.  There  was  a  burst  of 
laughter  from  the  spectators ;  but  Callieres,  with 
ceremonious  gravity,  begged  him  to  put  it  on 
again,  which  he  did,  and  proceeded  with  his  speech, 
the  pith  of  which  was  briefly  as  follows :  "  The 
darkness  is  gone,  the  sun  shines  bright  again,  and 
now  the  Iroquois  is  my  brother." 

Then  came  a  young  Algonquin  war-chief,  dressed 
like  a  Canadian,  but  adorned  with  a  drooping  red 
feather  and  a  tall  rictee  of  hair  like  the  crest  of  a 
cock.  It  was  he  who  slew  Black  Kettle,  that 
redoubted  Iroquois  whose  loss  filled  the  confecler- 
ac}^  with  mourning,  and  who  exclaimed  as  he  fell, 
"  Must  I,  who  have  made  the  whole  earth  tremble, 
now  die  by  the  hand  of  a  child !  "  The  young 
chief  spoke  concisely  and  to  the  purpose :  "  I  am 
not  a  man  of  counsel :  it  is  for  me  to  listen  to  your 
words.  Peace  has  come,  and  now  let  us  forget  the 
past." 

When  he  and  all  the  rest  had  ended,  the  orator 
of  the  Iroquois  strode  to  the  front,  and  in  brief  words 
gave  in  their  adhesion  to  the  treaty.  "  Onontio, 
we  are  pleased  with  all  you  have  clone,  and  we  have 
listened  to  all  you  have  said.     We  assure  you  by 


1701.]  THE  WORK  OF  FRONTENAC  FINISHED.  451 

these  four  belts  of  wampum  that  we  will  stand  fast 
in  our  obedience.  As  for  the  prisoners  whom  we 
have  not  brought  you,  we  place  them  at  your  dis- 
posal, and  }rou  will  send  and  fetch  them." 

The  calumet  was  lighted.  Callieres,  Champigny, 
and  Vaudreuil  drew  the  first  smoke,  then  the  Iro- 
quois deputies,  and  then  all  the  tribes  in  turn. 
The  treaty  was  duly  signed,  the  rejDresentative  of 
each  tribe  affixing  his  mark,  in  the  shape  of  some 
bird,  beast,  fish,  reptile,  insect,  plant,  or  nonde- 
script object. 

u  Thus,"  says  La  Potherie,  "  the  labors  of  the 
late  Count  Frontenac  were  brought  to  a  happy 
consummation."  The  work  of  Frontenac  was  in- 
deed finished,  though  not  as  he  would  have  finished 
it.  Callieres  had  told  the  Iroquois  that  till  they  sur- 
rendered their  Indian  prisoners  he  would  keep  in 
his  own  hands  the  Iroquois  prisoners  surrendered 
by  the  allied  tribes.  To  this  the  spokesman  of  the 
confederacy  coolly  replied  :  "  Such  a  proposal  was 
never  made  since  the  world  began.  Keep  them, 
if  you  like.  We  will  go  home,  and  think  no  more 
about  them ;  but,  if  you  gave  them  to  us  without 
making  trouble,  and  gave  us  our  son  Joncaire  at 
the  same  time,  we  should  have  no  reason  to  dis- 
trust your  sincerity,  and  should  all  be  glad  to  send 
you  back  the  prisoners  we  took  from  your  allies." 
Callieres  yielded,  persuaded  the  allies  to  agree  to 
the  conditions,  gave  up  the  prisoners,  and  took  an 
empty  promise  in  return.  It  was  a  triumph  for 
the  Iroquois,  who  meant  to  keep  their  Indian  cap- 
tives, and  did  in  fact  keep  nearly  all  of  them.1 

1  The  council  at  Montreal  is  described  at  great  length  by  La  Potherie, 


452  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

The  chief  objects  of  the  late  governor  were  gained. 
The  power  of  the  Iroquois  was  so  far  broken  that 
they  were  never  again  very  formidable  to  the 
French.  Canada  had  confirmed  her  Indian  alliances, 
and  rebutted  the  English  claim  to  sovereignty  over 
the  five  tribes,  with  all  the  consequerices  that  hung 
upon  it.  By  the  treaty  of  Ryswick,  the  great 
questions  at  issue  in  America  were  left  to  the 
arbitrament  of  future  wars  ;  and  meanwhile,  as  time 
went  on,  the  policy  of  Frontenac  developed  and 
ripened.  Detroit  was  occupied  by  the  French, 
the  passes  of  the  west  were  guarded  by  forts, 
another  New  France  grew  up  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  lines  of  military  communication 
joined  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  with  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence ;  while  the  colonies  of  England  lay  pas- 
sive between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  sea  till  roused 
by  the  trumpet  that  sounded  with  wavering  notes 
on  many  a  bloody  field  to  peal  at  last  in  triumph 
from  the  Heights  of  Abraham. 

a  spectator.  There  is  a  short  official  report  of  the  various  speeches,  of 
which  a  translation  will  he  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  722.  Callieres 
himself  gives  interesting  details.  (Callieres  au  Ministre,  4  Oct.,  1701.)  A 
great  number  of  papers  on  Indian  affairs  at  this  time  will  he  found  in 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV. 

Joncaire  went  for  the  prisoners  whom  the  Iroquois  had  promised  to 
give  up,  and  could  get  but  six  of  them.  Callieres  an  Ministre,  31  Oct., 
1701.     The  rest  were  made  Iroquois  by  adoption. 

According  to  an  English  official  estimate  made  at  the  end  of  the  war, 
the  Iroquois  numbered  2,550  warriors  in  1689,  and  only  1,230  in  1G98. 
VT.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.  420.  In  1701,  a  French  writer  estimates  them  at  only 
1,200  warriors.  In  other  words,  their  strength  was  reduced  at  least  one 
half.  They  afterwards  partially  recovered  it  by  the  adoption  of  prisoners, 
and  still  more  by  the  adoption  of  an  entire  kindred  tribe,  the  Tuscaroras. 
In  1720,  the  English  reckon  them  at  2,000  warriors.  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
V.  557. 


APPENDIX. 


THE   FAMILY   OF  FRONTENAC. 

Count  Frontenac's  grandfather  was 

Antoine  de  Buade,  Seigneur  de  Frontenac,  Baron  de  Pal- 
luau, Conseiller  d'Etat,  Chevalier  des  Ordres  du  Roy,  son 
premier  maitre  d'hotel,  et  gouverneur  de  St.  Germain-en-Laye. 
By  Jeanne  Secontat,  his  wife,  he  had,  among  other  children, 

Henri  de  Buade,  Chevalier,  Baron  de  Palluau  et  mestre  de 
camp  (colonel)  du  regiment  de  Navarre,  who,  by  his  wife  Anne 
Phelippeaux,  daughter  of  Raymond  Phelippeaux,  Secretary  of 
State,  had,  among  other  children, 

Louis  de  Buade,  Comte  de  Palluau  et  Frontenac.  Seigneur 
de  l'lsle-Savary,  mestre  de  camp  du  regiment  de  Normandie, 
marechal  de  camp  dans  les  armees  du  Roy,  et  gouverneur  et 
lieutenant  general  en  Canada,  Acadie,  Isle  de  Terreneuve,  et 
autres  pays'de  la  France  septentrionale.  Louis  de  Buade  had 
by  his  wife,  Anne  de  La  Grange-Trianon,  one  son,  Francois 
Louis,  killed  in  Germany,  while  in  the  service  of  the  king,  and 
leaving  no  issue. 

The  foregoing  is  drawn  from  a  comparison  of  the  following 
authorities,  all  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Bibliotheque 
Nationale  of  Paris,  where  the  examination  was  made :  Memoires 
de  Marolles,  abbe  de  Villeloin,  II.  201 ;  L'Hermite-Souliers, 
Hlstoire  Genealogique  de  la  Noblesse  de  Touraine  ;  Du  Chesne, 
Recherches  Historiques  de  V  Ordre  du  Saint- Esprit ;  Morin,  Statuts 
de  V  Ordre  du  Saint- Espr it  ;  Marolles  de  Villeloin,  Hlstoire  des 
Anciens  Comtes  oVAnjou  ;  Pere  Anselme,  Grands  Officiers  de  la 
Couronne ;  Pinard,  Chronologie  Historique-militaire ;  Table  de 
la  Gazette  de  France.     In  this  matter  of  the  Frontenac  geneal- 


454  APPENDIX. 

ogy,  I  am  much  indebted  to  the  kind  offices  of  my  friend,  James 
Gordon  Clarke,  Esq. 

When,  in  1 600,  Henry  IV.  was  betrothed  to  Marie  de  Medicis, 
Frontenac,  grandfather  of  the  governor  of  Canada,  described  as 
"  ung  des  plus  antiens  serviteurs  du  roy,"  was  sent  to  Florence 
by  the  king  to  carry  his  portrait  to  his  affianced  bride.  Memoires 
de  Philippe  Hurault,  448  (Petitot). 

The  appointment  of  Frontenac  to  the  post,  esteemed  as  highly 
honorable,  of  maitre  (V hotel  in  the  royal  household,  immediately 
followed.  There  is  a  very  curious  book,  the  journal  of  Jean 
Heroard,  a  physician  charged  with  the  care  of  the  infant 
Dauphin,  afterwards  Louis  XIII.,  born  in  1601.  It  records 
every  act  of  the  future  monarch :  his  screaming  and  kicking  in 
the  arms  of  his  nurses,  his  refusals  to  be  washed  and  dressed, 
his  resistance  when  his  hair  was  combed ;  how  he  scratched  his 
governess,  and  called  her  names ;  how  he  quarrelled  with  the 
children  of  his  father's  mistresses,  and  at  the  age  of  four  de- 
clined to  accept  them  as  brothers  and  sisters ;  how  his  mother 
slighted  him  ;  and  how  his  father  sometimes  caressed,  sometimes 
teased,  and  sometimes  corrected  him  with  his  own  hand.  The 
details  of  the  royal  nursery  are,  we  may  add,  astounding  for 
their  grossness ;  and  the  language  and  the  manners  amid  which 
the  infant  monarch  grew  up  were  worthy  of  the  days  of 
Eabelais. 

Frontenac  and  his  children  appear  frequently,  and  not  un- 
favorably, on  the  pages  of  this  singular  diary.  Thus,  when  the 
Dauphin  was  three  years  old,  the  king,  being  in  bed,  took  him 
and  a  young  Frontenac  of  about  the  same  age,  set  them  before 
him,  and  amused  himself  by  making  them  rally  each  other  in 
their  infantile  lanoma^e.  The  infant  Frontenac  had  a  trick  of 
stuttering,  which  the  Dauphin  caught  from  him,  and  retained 
for  a  long  time.  Again,  at  the  age  of  five,  the  Dauphin,  armed 
with  a  little  gun,  played  at  soldier  with  two  of  the  Frontenac 
children  in  the  hall  at  St.  Germain.  They  assaulted  a  town, 
the  rampart  being  represented  by  a  balustrade  before  the  fire- 
place. "  The  Dauphin,"  writes  the  journalist,  "  said  that  he 
would  be  a  musketeer,  and  yet  he  spoke  sharply  to  the  others 


APPENDIX.  455 

who  would  not  do  as  he  wished.  The  king  said  to  him.  '  My 
boy,  you  are  a  musketeer,  but  you  speak  like  a  general.'  "  Long 
after,  when  the  Dauphin  was  in  his  fourteenth  year,  the  follow- 
ing entry  occurs  in  the  physician's  diary  :  — 

St.  Germain,  Sunday,  22d  {July,  1614).  "  He  (the  Dauphin) 
goes  to  the  chapel  of  the  terrace,  then  mounts  his  horse  and  goes 
to  find  M.  de  Souvre  and  M.  de  Frontenac,  whom  he  surprises 
as  they  were  at  breakfast  at  the  small  house  near  the  quarries. 
At  half  past  one,  he  mounts  again,  in  hunting  boots  ;  goes  to  the 
park  with  M.  de  Frontenac  as  a  guide,  chases  a  stag,  and 
catches  him.     It  was  his  first  stag-hunt." 

Of  Henri  de  Buade,  father  of  the  governor  of  Canada,  but 
little  is  recorded.  When  in  Paris,  he  lived,  like  his  son  after 
him,  on  the  Quai  des  Celestins,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Paul.  His 
son,  Count  Frontenac,  was  born  in  1620,  seven  years  after  his 
father's  marriage.  Apparently  his  birth  took  place  elsewhere 
than  in  Paris,  for  it  is  not  recorded  with  those  of  Henri  de 
Buade' s  other  children,  on  the  register  of  St.  Paul  (Jal,  Diction- 
naire  Critique,  Biographique,  et  d'Histoire).  The  story  told  by 
Tallemant  des  Reaux  concerning  his  marriage  (see  page  6) 
seems  to  be  mainly  true.  Colonel  Jal  says  :  "  On  conc,oit  que 
j'ai  pu  etre  tente  de  connaitre  ce  qu'il  y  a  de  vrai  dans  les  recits 
de  Saint- Simon  et  de  Tallemant  des  Reaux ;  voici  ce  qu'apres 
bien  des  recherches,  j'ai  pu  apprendre.  M".e  La  Grange  fit,  en 
effet,  un  mariage  a  demi  secret.  Ce  ne  fut  point  a  sa  paroisse 
que  fut  benie  son  union  avec  M.  de  Frontenac,  mais  dans  une 
des  petites  eglises  de  la  Cite  qui  avaient  le  privilege  de  recevoir 
les  amants  qui  s'unissaient  malgre  leurs  parents,  et  ceux  qui 
regularisaient  leur  position  et  s'epousaient  un  peu  avant  —  quel- 
quefois  apres  —  la  naissance  d'un  enfant.  Ce  fut  a  St.  Pierre- 
aux-Boeufs  que,  le  mercredy,  28  Octobre,  1648,  '  Messire  Louis 
de  Buade,  Chevalier,  comte  de  Frontenac,  conseiller  du  Roy  en 
ses  conseils,  mareschal  des  camps  et  armees  de  S.  M.,  et  maistre 
de  camp  du  regiment  du  Normandie,'  epousa  '  demoiselle  Anne 
de  La  Grange,  fille  de  Messire  Charles  de  La  Grange,  conseiller 
du  Roy  et  maistre  des  comptes '  de  la  paroisse  de  St.  Paul 
comme  M.  de  Frontenac, '  en  vertu  de  la  dispense  .  .  .  obtenue 


456  APPENDIX. 

de  M.  l'official  de  Paris  par  laquelle  il  est  permis  au  Sf  de  Buade 
et  demoiselle  de  La  Grange  de  celebrer  leur  marriage  suyvant 
et  conformement  a  la  permission  qu'ils  en  ont  obtenue  du  Sf 
Coquerel,  vicaire  de  St.  Paul,  devant  le  premier  cure  ou  vicaire 
sur  ce  requis,  en  gardant  les  solennites  en  ce  cas  requises  et  ac- 
coutumees.' "  Jal  then  gives  the  signatures  to  the  act  of  mar- 
riage, which,  except  that  of  the  bride,  are  all  of  the  Frontenac 
family. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abenakis,  Indians  of  Acadia  and 
Maine,  220,  221,  228,  310,  368; 
attack  the  Christian  Iroquois,  234; 
their  domain,  338 ;  missions,  339 ; 
incited  against  the  English  colo- 
nists, 348;  attack  on  York,  349; 
visit  Villebon  at  St.  John,  351, 
352;  their  attack  on  Wells,  353; 
is  foiled,  355  ;  treaty  with  the  Eng- 
lish at  Pemaquid,  360;  are  won 
back  by  the  French,  361-363  ;  influ- 
enced by  missionary  priests,  374-376. 

Acadia  (Nova  Scotia  and  westward 
to  the  Kennebec)  exposed  to  in- 
roads from  New  England,  117,  335 ; 
the  war  in,  335-368;  the  region, 
337-339  ;  relations  with  New  Eng- 
land, 340  ;  hostilities,  342  ;  Villebon 
governor;  border  war,  347,  353- 
363  ;  New  England  attacks,  373. 

Albany,  an  Indian  mart,  75 ;  Indian 
council  there,  90,  120;  Iroquois 
summoned  thither  by  Dongan,  158  ; 
by  Schuyler,  399  ;  expedition 
against  Montreal,   246. 

Albanv,  Fort,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  taken 
by  Canadians,  134. 

Albemarle,  Duke  of,  aids  Phips,  242. 

Alliance,  triple,  of  Indians  and  Eng- 
lish, 197. 

Amours,  councillor  at  Quebec,  im- 
prisoned by  Frontenac,  51-54  (see 
247). 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  appointed  colo- 
nial governor,  164;  his  jurisdiction, 
165;  plunders  Castine,  221;  is  de- 
posed, 223  ;  at  Pentegoet,  346. 

Auteuil,  attorney-general  of  Canada, 
an  enemy  of  Frontenac,  47,  247 ; 
banished,  49. 

Avaux,  Count  d',  French  envoy  at 
London,  135. 

.  B. 

Bastile,  confinement  of  Perrot,  41. 
Baugis,    Chevalier    de,    sent    by    La 
Barre  to  seize  Fort  St.  Louis,  86. 
Beaucour,  299. 


Bellefonds,  Marshal  de,  a  friend  ot 

Frontenac  at  court,  59. 
Bellomont,  Earl  of,  governor  of  New 

York,  423  ;  corresponds  with  Fron- 
tenac, 423-426. 
Belmont,  Abbe,  cited,  102  n.,  154. 
Bernieres,  vicar  of  Laval  in  Canada, 

38. 
Bienville,  Francois  de,  288. 
Big  Mouth,  an  Iroquois  chief,  95,  98, 

105,  114,  141 ;  his  speech  in  defiance 

of  La  Barre,  107-109  ;  his  power  in 

the    confederacy,  170 ;    defiance  of 

Denonville,  172. 
Bigot,  Jacques  and  Vincent,  Jesuits, 

220-222  ;  in  Acadia,  375,  378. 
Bishop  of   Canada,  see  Laval,  Saint- 

Vauier. 
Bizard,     Lieutenant,    despatched    by 

Frontenac   to   Montreal,  31. 
Boisseau,  his  quarrel  at  Quebec,  63. 
Boston,   after  the   failure  at  Quebec, 

284,  295  ;   plan  of  attack  on,  382- 

384. 
Bounties  on  scalps,  &c,  298. 
Bradstreet,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven, 

made    governor    after    Andros    at 

Boston,>23. 
Bretonvilliers,  superior  of  Jesuits,  42. 
Brucy,  a  lieutenant,  agent  of  Perrot, 

his  traffic  with  Indians,  28,  34. 
Bruyas,  a  Jesuit  interpreter,  105. 


Cadillac,  324 ;  at  Michillimackinac, 
403,   406- 

Callieres,  governor  of  Montreal,  150, 
153  ;  his  scheme  for  conquering  the 
English  colonies,  187 ;  comes  to  the 
defence  of  Quebec,  259,  270,  279  ;  at 
La  Prairie,  290  ;  quarrel  with  the 
bishop,  329-331;  in  the  Onondaga 
expedition,  410,  412,  416 ;  succeeds 
Frontenac  as  governor,  438  ;  treats 
with  the  Iroquois,  440 ;  conference 
at  Montreal,  and  treaty,  447-451. 

Canada,  character  of  its  colonial  rule, 
20;  its  condition  under  Denonville, 
165-168  ;  Iroquois  invasion,  177-182 
(see  286,  294,  301). 


458 


INDEX. 


Cannehoot,  a  Seneca  chief,  197. 

Cannibalism  of  the  Indians,  112,  153, 
206,  404. 

Carheil,  a  Jesuit,  at  Michillimackinac, 
201. 

Carion,  an  officer  of  Perrot,  30;  ar- 
rested by  Frontenac,  31 . 

Casco  Bay,  garrison  at,  223 ;  defeat  of 
Indians,  226 ;  the  garrison  overcome 
and  slaughtered,  228-231. 

Cataraqui  (Fort  Frontenac),  109. 

Champigny,  intendant  of  Canada,  136, 
333;  his  treacherous  seizure  of  In- 
dians at  Fort  Frontenac,  139-142  ;  at 
Quebec,  247  :  at  Montreal.  252 ;  de- 
fends himself,  296;  relations  with 
Frontenac,  319;  a  champion  of  the 
Jesuits,  322,  329;  reconciled  to  Fron- 
tenac, 429  :  opposes  Callieres,  438. 

Chedabucto  (Nova  Scotia),  Frontenac's 
rendezvous,  188;  fortifications,  336. 

Chesnave  (La),  a  trader  of  Quebec, 
72,  102. 

Chesnave,  La,  massacres  at,  194,  301. 

Chubb  (Pascho),  commands  at  Pema- 
quid,  378  ;  which  he  surrenders,  381. 

Cocheco  (Dover,  N.  H.),  attacked, 
224. 

Colbert,  minister  of  Louis  XIV.,  his 
zeal  for  the  French  colonies,  15; 
despatches  to  Frontenac,  20,  41,  50, 
59 ;  instructions  to  Duchesneau,  44, 
46,  55. 

Converts,  Indian,  their  pietv,  &c, 
366,  377  ».,   386. 

Corlaer,  the  Iroquois  name  for  the 
governor  of  New  York,  93  n.  (see 
109,  138,  199) ;  origin  of  the  name, 
217  n. 

Council  at  Quebec,  hostile  to  Fron- 
tenac, 47,  49,  52,  248-251 ;  alarmed 
at  rumors  of  attack,  247. 

at    Onondaga,    196-200;     at 

Montreal,  442-451. 

Courcelle,  predecessor  of  Frontenac, 
26. 

Coureurs  de  bois  to  be  arrested,  29, 
34 ;  amnesty,  51 ;  their  influence 
with  Frontenac,  57;  the  king's 
charge  regarding  them,  58 ;  under 
Du  Lhut,  54,  99,  128,  144,  193;  at 
Michillimackinac,  122  ;  deserters, 
125;  in  the  Seneca  expedition,  150; 
their  license,  183;  hardihood,  209. 

Cut  Nose,  an  Iroquois  convert,  195; 
his  speech  at  the  Onondaga  council, 
197. 

D. 

Davis,  Sylvanus,  a  trader,  command- 
ing at  Fort  Loyal,  Casco  Bay.  229  ; 
his  surrender,  231;  captivity,  232. 


Denonville,  successor  of  La  Barre  as 
governor  of  Canada,  1685-1689; 
sails  for  Canada,  116  ;  circum- 
stances there  ;  his  character, 
117;  his  instructions,  120;  his  in- 
trigues, 121 ;  correspondence  with 
Dongan,  123-128;  threatens  to  at- 
tack Albany,  129 ;  orders  Du  Lhut 
to  shoot  bush-rangers  and  deser- 
ters, 130  ;  plans  an  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois,  136;  musters 
the  Canadian  militia,  138;  treach- 
erously seizes  a  party  of  Indians, 
140  ;  arrives  at  Fort  Frontenac.  144 ; 
at  Irondequoit  Bay,  148 ;  march  for 
the  Seneca  country,  149 ;  battle  in 
the  woods,  152  ;  his  report  of  the 
battle,  153;  destroys  "the  Babylon 
of  the  Senecas,"  154;  builds  a' fort 
on  the  Niagara,  155;  further  cor- 
respondence with  Dongan,  159-161; 
sends  an  envoy  to  Albanv,  162 ; 
abandons  the  Niagara  fort,  166; 
begs  for  the  return  of  Indian  cap- 
tives, 167  ;  his  wretched  condition, 
168;  seeks  a  conference  with  the 
Iroquois,  170  ;  who  deceive  him,  and 
invade  Canada,  177 ;  horrors  of  the 
invasion,  178-182;  he  is  recalled, 
and  succeeded  by  Frontenac,  182; 
who  finds  him  at  Montreal,  191 ; 
having  ordered  the  destruction  of 
Fort  Frontenac,  192. 

Deserters,  French,  demanded  by  De- 
nonville, 127  ;  sheltered  bv  Dongan, 
129,  131. 

Detroit,  112;  a  fort  built  here  bv  Du 
Lhut,  128;  held  by  the  French, 
452. 

Dongan  (an  Irish  Catholic),  governor 
of  New  Netherland,  89 ;  holds  an 
Indian  council  at  Albany,  90-93; 
his  rivalry  with  Canada,  119  ;  com- 
plaints of  Denonville.  120;  their 
correspondence,  123-128  ;  vindicates 
himself,  129  ;  he  sends  Denonville 
some  oranges,  130 ;  his  pacific  in- 
structions from  England,  135 ;  his 
wrath  at  the  French  attack  on  the 
Indian  country,  158;  is  recalled, 
and  replaced  by  Sir  Edmund  Andros, 
164. 

Dover,  N.  H.  (Cocheco),  attacked  by 
Indians,  224. 

Duchesneau,  sent  as  intendant  to 
Quebec  ;  sides  with  the  clergy 
against  Frontenac,  45 ;  dispute  as 
to  the  presidency  of  the  council,  48- 
51  ;  quarrel  in  the  council,  53  ;  his 
accusations  against  Frontenac,  54- 
58 ;  Frontenac's  complaints  of  him, 
60-63 ;  and  violence  to  his  son,  63, 
04 ;  Duchesneau  recalled,  67. 


INDEX. 


459 


Du  Lhut,  a  leader  of  coureurs  de  bois, 
54,  56,  81,  99 ;  rivalry  with  English 
traders  of  Hudson's  Bay,  81 ;  in- 
trigues with  Indians,  111;  builds  a 
fort  near  Detroit,  128 ;  where  he 
has  a  large  force  of  French  and 
Indians,  144,  147 ;  leads  attack  on 
the  Senecas,  150;  defeats  a  party 
of  Indians  on  the  Ottawa,  193. 

Durantaye,  La,  at  Niagara,  99;  with 
Du  Lhut  at  Michillimackinac,  111 ; 
at  Detroit,  144 ;  captures  Rooseboom 
and  McGregory,  146 ;  commanding 
at  Michillimackinac,  sends  bad  news 
to  Montreal,  201;  is  replaced  by 
Louvigny,  203. 

D'Urf^,  Abbe,  a  Canadian  missionary, 
is  ill  received  by  Frontenac,  36 ;  car- 
ries complaints  of  him  to  France, 
40,  42. 

Dustan,  Mrs.,  of  Haverhill,  her  ex- 
ploit, 385-387. 

Dutch  traders  instigate  Iroquois 
against  the  French,  75;  pursuit  of 
the  fur  trade  into  their  country, 
89. 

E. 

Engelran,  a  Jesuit  missionary  at  Mich- 
illimackinac, confers  with  Denon- 
ville,  121 ;  his  dealings  with  the 
Indians,  145,  159,  443;"  is  wounded 
by  the  Senecas,  153. 

English  colonies,  designs  of  Louis 
XIV.  for  their  destruction,   189. 

English  colonists  of  New  England  in- 
vade Acadia,  117 ;  their  organiza- 
tion and  policy  compared  with  the 
French,  394-397;  their  military  in- 
efficiency, 408  (see  New  England). 

F. 

Famine  (La),  on  Lake  Ontario,  vis- 
ited bv  La  Barre,  104  ;  the  coun- 
cil, 105-110;  treaty  of,  113,  117; 
treacherous  attack  here  on  the  Iro- 
quois by  Kondiaronk  (the  Rat), 
173-175. 

Fe'nelon,  a  zealous  missionary  priest 
at  Montreal,  33  ;  arraigned  at  Que- 
bec by  Frontenac,  36-38 ;  is  sent  to 
France,  39 ;  and  forbidden  to  re- 
turn, 42. 

Fletcher,  governor  of  New  York,  his 
complaints  of  weakness  and  divi- 
sions, 408. 

Forest  posts,  their  abuses  and  their 
value  to  the  French,  419,  420. 

Fort,  see  Albany,  Famine  (La),  Fron- 
tenac, Loyal,  Niagara,  St.  Louis, 
Nelson. 

Fortifications  of  Canada,  297. 


Fox  Indians,  charged  with  cowardice, 
112. 

French  designs  of  colonization  and 
conquest,  119 ;  policy  of  conquest 
and  massacre,  370-373;  coloniza- 
tion, compared  with  English,  394- 
397;  occupation  of  the  Great  West, 
452. 

Frontenac,  Count  (Louis  de  Buade), 
governor  of  Canada,  1672-1682, 
1689-1698;  at  St.  Fargeau,  4;  his 
early  life,  5 ;  marriage,  6,  455 ;  his 
quarrel  at  St.  Fargeau,  7  ;  his  estate, 
8 ;  his  vanity,  9  ;  aids  Venice  at 
Candia ;  his  appointment  to  com- 
mand in  New  France,  11 ;  at  Quebec, 
14;  convokes  the  three  estates,  17; 
his  address,  18  ;  form  of  government, 
19  ;  his  merits  and  faults,  21 ;  com- 
plains of  the  Jesuits,  22-25,  320-322 ; 
Fort  Frontenac  built  and  confided 
to  La  Salle,  27;  dispute  with  Per- 
rot,  governor  of  Montreal,  whom 
he  throws  into  prison,  28-34;  this 
leads  to  a  quarrel  with  Abbe  Fene- 
lon  and  the  priests,  35-38;  Fron- 
tenac's  relations  with  the  clergy, 
39 ;  his  instructions  from  the  king 
and  Colbert,  40-46 ;  his  hot  temper, 
44,  45 ;  question  of  the  presidency, 
48-51 ;  imprisonment  of  Amours, 
51-54 ;  disputes  on  the  fur  trade, 
and  accusations  of  Duchesneau,  54- 
58 ;  reproof  from  the  king  and  Col- 
bert, 58-60 ;  complaints  against 
Duchesneau,  60-63  ;  arrest  of  his 
son,  64 ;  relations  with  Perrot,  65 ; 
with  the  Church,  68 ;  with  the  In- 
dians, 69,  254;  his  recall,  67;  sails 
for  France,  71 ;  relations  at  this  time 
with  the  Iroquois,  76-79  ;  Frontenac 
is  sent  again  to  Canada,  186  ;  scheme 
of  invading  New  York,  187  ;  arrives 
at  Chedabucto,  188  ;  at  Quebec  and 
Montreal,  191  ;  attempts  to  save  the 
fort,  192 ;  summons  a  conference  of 
Indians,  195;  the  conference,  196- 
200;  another  failure,  201;  message 
to  the  Lake  Indians,  203,  206; 
scheme  of  attack  on  English  colon- 
ies, 208;  Schenectadv,  211-219; 
Pemaquid,  224  ;  Salmon  Falls,  227; 
Casco  Bay,  229 ;  conference  with 
Davis,  232  ;  leads  the  war-dance, 
254;  defence  of  Quebec,  247-279; 
reply  to  Phips's  summons,  267  ;  begs 
troops  from  the  king,  295;  expedi- 
tion against  the  Mohawks,  310-315  ; 
appeal  to  Ponchartrain,  317-319, 
320-322,  417;  jealousies  against 
him,  319 ;  complaints  of  Champigny, 
320;  scheme  of  coast-attack,  357; 
treats  with  the  Iroquois,  397-399, 


460 


INDEX. 


401,  421;  his  difficult  position,  402; 
expedition  against  the  Onondagas, 
410-415, 421  ;"his  tardy  reward,  417  ; 
his  poliev,  419-421;  correspondence 
with  Beflomont,  423-426  ;  death  and 
character,  428-436  ;  the  eulogist  and 
the  critic,  431-434;  his  administra- 
tion, 436 ;  account  of  his  family, 
453-456. 

Frontenac,  Fort,  27,  78;  La  Barre's 
muster  of  troops,  85,  97 ;  his  arrival, 
103  ;  summons  a  council  of  Indians, 
137;  who  are  treacherously  seized 
and  made  prisoners,  139-143  (see 
162,  167,  170)  ;  expedition  against 
the  Senecas,  147-155 ;  sickness,  166 ; 
visit  of  the  Rat,  175;  the  fort  de- 
stroyed by  order  of  Denonville,  192 ; 
restored,  407,  416. 

Frontenac,  Madame,  her  portrait  at 
Versailles,  1 ;  with  Mile.  Montpen- 
sier  at  Orleans,  3,  7 ;  surprised  by 
her  husband's  visit,  4;  dismissed 
by  the  princess,  10;  her  stay  in 
Paris  and  death,  12,  13;  serves 
Frontenac  at  the  court,  320 ;  is  made 
his  heir,  429. 


G. 


Galley-slaves,  140,  142. 

Ganneious,  a  mission  village  :  Indians 

treacherously  seized,  140. 
Garangula,  95 "(see  B'kj  Mouth). 
Garrison  houses  described,  371. 
Glen,  John  S.,  at  Schenectady,  213, 

216,  217  n. 
Grignan,  Count  de,  12  n. 


H. 

Haves,  Fort  (Hudson's  Bav),  seized, 

133. 
Henry  IV.  of  France,   anecdotes  of, 

454. 
Hertel,  Fr.,  commands  an  expedition 

against  NeAv  Hampshire,  220,  227. 
Hontan  (Baron  La),  103,  105,  300;  at 

Fort  Frontenac,  139  ;  his  account  of 

the  attack  on  Quebec,  277. 
Howard,  Lord  (governor  of  Virginia), 

at  Albany,  90. 
Hudson's  Bay:  English  traders,  117; 

attack   on  their  posts   by  Troyes, 

132,  134;  by  Iberville,  391-393. 
Huguenots  at  Port  Royal,  341. 
Huron  converts,  24,  75,  255 ;  at  Mich- 

illimackinac,  205. 
Huron  Indians  inclined  to  the  English, 

118 ;  at  Michillimackinac,  205. 


I. 


Iberville,  son  of  Le  Moyne.  132;  his 
military  career,  388 ';  attack  on 
Newfoundland,  389-391;  at  Fort 
Nelson,  392. 

Illinois,  tribe  of,  78,  122. 

Indians :  illustrations  of  their  man- 
ners and  customs,  24,  69.  94,  145, 
148,  150,  155,  253,  254,  448  ;  grave- 
yard, 154;  their  cannibalism,  97, 
112,  153,  181,206,  313;  torture,  181, 
300;  instigated  by  French.  305,  356  : 
great  conference  "at  Montreal,  442- 
451. 

Irondequoit  Bay,  147  ;  muster  of  In- 
dians there,  148. 

Iroquois  (Five  Nations),  69,  74;  their 
strength,  74,  79;  policy,  75;  craft, 
82 ;  pride,  92 :  offences  against  the 
French,  106,  169  ;  Denonville  seeks 
to  chastise  them,  122 ;  approached 
by  Dongan,  127;  they  distrust  De- 
nonville, 137 ;  seizure  at  Fort  Fronte- 
nac, 139;  converts  as  allies,  150, 
156;  claimed  as  subjects  by  Andres, 
165;  invasion  of  Canada,"l68,  177- 
181 ;  seize  the  ruins  of  Fort  Fronte- 
nac, 193;  their  inroads.  287;  rela- 
tions with  Bellomont,  424 ;  their  sus- 
picions of  the  Fi-ench,  439 ;  treat 
with  Callieres.  440 ;  conference  at 
Montreal,  442-451;  their  ill-faith, 
445  ;    their  numbers,   452  n. 


J. 


James  II.,  119,  136;  assumes  protec- 
torate over  the  Iroquois,  161;  puts 
the  colonies  under  command  of  An- 
dros,  164;  is  deposed,  182. 

Jesuits  in  Canada,  17;  Frontenac's 
charges,  22.  25,  39,  293;  English 
suspicions,  90 ;  protected  by  Denon- 
ville. 124 ;  excluded  by  Dongan,  159 ; 
hostile  to  Frontenac,  191 ;  during  the 
attack  on  Quebec,  281 ;  their  in- 
trigues, 331. 

Joncaire,  his  adventures  among  the 
Indians,  441,  443. 


K. 


Kinshon  (the  Fish),  Indian  name  of 
New  England,  199. 

Kondiaronk  (the  Rat),  a  Huron  chief, 
77;  his  craft,  which  brings  on  the 
Iroquois  invasion,  173-176,  205;  at 
Montreal,  442.  444  :  death  and  burial, 
445-447  ;  a  Christian  convert,  446. 


INDEX. 


461 


L. 

La  Barre,  governor  of  Canada,  1682- 
1684 ;  finds  Lower  Quebec  in  ruins, 
72 :  his  boasting,  79  ;  proposes  to  at- 
tack the  Senecas,  83;  expedition  to 
the  Illinois  ;  seizes  Fort  St.  Louis, 

■  86;  campaign  against  the  Senecas, 
99;  charges  of  Meules,  101;  council 
at  Fort  La  Famine,  101-110;  La 
Barre's  speech.  106;  embassy  to  the 
Upper  Lakes,  111;  wrath  of  the  Ot- 
tawas,  113;  is  recalled.  115. 

La  Chesnaye,  partner  of  Duchesneau, 
60;  in  favor  with  La  Barre,  81; 
seizes  Fort  Frontenac,  82  ;  his  forest 
trade,  81  (see  Chesnaye). 

La  Chine,  massacre  of,  178. 

La  Foret,  commander  of  Fort  Fronte- 
nac, 81 ;  returns  to  France,  82. 

La  Grange,  father-in-law  of  Fronte- 
nac, 5. 

L;ike  tribes,  English  alliance,  97; 
great  gathering  at  Montreal,  252- 
255;  conciliated  by  Frontenac,  315; 
their  threatening  attitude,  403; 
treaty  with  Callieres,  447-451. 

Lamberville,  a  Jesuit  missionary  at 
Onondaga,  78,  95,  104;  correspond- 
ence with  La  Barre,  96,  114 ;  pro- 
tected by  Dongan,  125;  in  danger 
among  the  Iroquois,  137;  escapes  to 
Denonville,  142. 

La  Motte-Cadillac  (see  Cadillac). 

La  Plaque,  a  Christian  Indian,  255, 
256. 

La  Prairie  attacked  by  John  Schuvler, 
257  ;  bv  Peter  Schuvler,  289  ;  his 
retreat,  291-293. 

La  Salle,  his  relations  with  Frontenac, 
27,  54 ;  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  75 ;  which 
is  seized  bv  La  Barre,  86. 

Laval,  bishop  of  Canada,  23,  38,  45, 
281. 

Leisler,  Jacob,  at  Fort  William,  212, 
289. 

Le  Movne,  mission  to  the  Onondagas, 
83,  104,  106,  288. 

Louis  XIII. ,  infancy  of,  454. 

Louis  XIV.  admonishes  Frontenac,  49, 
55,  58;  recalls  La  Barre,  115;  sup- 
ports Denonville,  119, 135 ;  his  reign, 
184;  designs  respecting  the  English 
colonies,  189,  190 ;  announces  the 
treatv  of  Rvswick,  423. 

Loyal,  Fort,  at  Casco  Bay,  229,  230; 
surrenders  to  Portneuf,  231. 


M. 

Madeleine  de  Vercheres,  her  heroism, 
302-308. 


Madocawando,  Penobscot  chief,  345, 
360,  363. 

Mareuil  interdicted  for  plav-acting, 
325-328. 

Massachusetts,  condition  of  the  colonA-, 
244,  285. 

Mather,  243,  246. 

McGregorv,  expedition  to  Lake  Huron, 
128,  147. 

Meneval,  governor  of  Port  Royal,  237 ; 
a  prisoner  at  Boston,  240. 

Meules,  intendant  of  Canada,  72:  let- 
ter to  La  Barre,  99 ;  representations 
to  the  king,  114;  recalled,  136. 

Michigan,  the  country  claimed  by  the 
English,  122. 

Michillimackinac.  trouble  there,  76; 
French  stores  threatened,  83,  84,  87; 
expedition  of  Perrot,  111 ;  threatened 
Indian  hostilities,  121 ;  Indian  mus- 
ter, 145;  English  traders  seized,  146; 
craft  of  the  Rat,  176  ;  burning  of  an 
Iroquois  prisoner,  205 ;  in  command 
of  Cadillac,  331. 

Missionaries,  French,  among  the  In- 
dians, 24,68;  to  be  protected  (De- 
nonville), 124,  163  k.;  (Dongan), 
126,  130,  160;  instigate  Indians  to 
torture  and  kill  their  prisoners,  205; 
incite  to  murderous  attacks,  374. 

Mohawks,  fear  the  French,  74;  their 
settlements,  93 ;  at  Schenectady, 
212,  215;  visit  Albany,  218;  mission 
village  at  Saut  St.  Louis,  309  ;  ex- 
pedition against  the  tribe,  310-315. 

Montespan,  lime.,  12. 

Montpensier.  Princess,  1';  at  Orleans, 
2:  her  exile,  4;  relations  with  Mine. 
Frontenac,  10  (see  12  n.). 

Montreal,  condition  under  Perrot,  28, 
65 ;  arrests  made  by  Perrot,  66 ;  ter- 
ror at  the  Iroquois  invasion,  179, 
191 ;  threatened  attack  from  New 
York,  236;  condition  of  the  country 
during  the  Indian  invasions,  301; 
great  gathering  of  traders  and  In- 
dians, 316 ;  great  council  of  Indians, 
443-451. 

Mosquitoes,  103. 

Moyne,  Le,  106,  288. 


N. 


Nelson,   John,  a  prisoner  at  Quebec; 

warns    the    Massachusetts    colonv, 

358. 
Nelson,  Fort,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  393. 
Nesmond  (Marquis),  to  command  in 

attack  on  Boston,  382,  384. 
New  England  colonies  unfit  for  war, 

244.  285,  394;  relations  with  Canada, 

373 ;  frontier  hostilities,  385. 
New  Netherland,  colony  of,  89. 


462 


INDEX. 


New  York,  English  colonies  of;  rela- 
tions with  the  Iroquois,  75;  claims 
to  the  western  country,  117;  in- 
trigues with  the  Hurons",  118 ;  trade 
with  the  north-west,  128;  checked 
by  La  Durantaye,  146  (see  Dongan) ; 
relations  with  Canada,  374. 

Niagara,  Fort,  planned  by  Denonville, 
125:  Indian  muster  at,  144;  the  fort 
built,  155 ;  destroyed,  1661 


0. 

Oneidas,  93. 

Onondaga,  94;  council  at,  196-200, 
401. 

Onontio,  Indian  name  for  governor  of 
Canada,  69,  78,  92  (La  Barre);  ad- 
dressed by  Big  Mouth,  107-109. 

Orleans,  holds  for  the  Fronde,  2. 

Otreouati  (Big  Mouth),  95. 

Ottawa  River,  its  importance  to  the 
French,  298. 

Ottawas,  their  hostility,  113;  a  generic 
name,  145,  n.  ;  join  Denonville,  148 ; 
their  barbarities,  153;  claimed  as 
British  subjects,  158;  greet  Perrot, 
204;  jealous  of  the  Hurons,  205; 
their  neutrality  overcome,  253-255. 

Ourehaoue,  a  Cayuga  chief,  195,  200. 

Ovster  River,  attack  and  massacre, 
365-367. 


P. 


Peace  of  Rvswick,  422 ;  celebrated  in 
Quebec,  426. 

Pemaquid,  capture  by  French  and  In- 
dians, 224,  346;  scheme  of  Fronte- 
nac,  357;  its  defences,  358;  attack 
and  capture,  378-382. 

Pentegoet  (Castine),  337;  held  by 
Saint-Castin,  345 ;  attacked  bv  An- 
dros,  346. 

Perrot,  governor  of  Montreal,  28 ;  his 
anger  at  Bizard,  31;  arrested  at 
Quebec  by  Frontenac,  33 ;  the  king's 
opinion,  '40;  is  restored,  65;  his 
greed,  66 ;  his  enmity  to  Saint-Castin, 
344;  at  the  Montreal  council,  448. 

Perrot,  Nicolas,  the  voyageur,  102  n.  ; 
at  Michillimackinac,  111;  his  skill 
in  dealing  with  the  Indians,  112, 
145,  203,  206. 

Philip's  (King)  war,  220. 

Phips,  Sir  William,  commands  the  ex- 
pedition to  Port  Royal,  236  ;  early 
life  and  character,  240-242 ;  as  gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts.  243;  his  ex- 
pedition to  Quebec,  262-285;  the 
summons  to  surrender,  266;    mis-   I 


takes  and  delays,  268;  cannonade, 
272;  retreat,  278;  French  supply- 
ships,  282;  arrival  at  Boston,  283. 

Port  Royal  captured,  236-240. 

Prisoners  (English),  their  treatment  in 
Canada,  377;  restored,  423;  French, 
among  the  Indians,  421,  424. 


Q. 

Quebec,  capital  of  Canada,  15 ;  muni- 
cipal government  established  by 
Frontenac,  19;  the  Lower  Town 
burned,  72;  greeting  to  Frontenac, 
191 ;  design  of  attack  bv  Massachu- 
setts, 244-246  (see  Phips,  Sir  IP".); 
the  defences,  251;  arrival  of  Fron- 
tenac with  troops,  259  ;  defence 
against  Phips's  attack,  262-278;  its 
imminent  danger,  279;  constructiou 
of  fortifications.  297. 


R. 

Rat  (the),  a  Huron  chief,  see  Kondia- 
ronk. 

Recollet  friars  befriended  hy  Fronte- 
nac, 39,  71,  323,  435 ;  their  eulogy 
of  him,  430. 

Richelieu,  184. 

Rooseboom,  a  Dutch  trader,  128,  146. 

Runaways  from  Canada,  sheltered  by 
Dongan,  127. 

Rupert,  Fort  (Hudson's  Bay),  seized 
by  Canadians,  133. 

Rys'wick,  peace  of,  422,  452. 


Saint-Castin,  Baron  de,  on  the  Penob- 
scot, 221 ;  attacks  Fort  Loval,  229 ; 
at  Castine,  337 ;  his  career,  342-345; 
plan  to  kidnap  him,  359 ;  at  the  at- 
tack on  Pemaquid,  380 ;  on  the  Pen- 
obscot, 385. 

Sainte-Helene,  son  of  Le  Moyne,  132, 
209 ;  in  the  attack  on  Schenectady, 
210,  214;  in  the  defence  of  Quebec, 
271,273;  is  killed,  276. 

Saint  Louis  (Saut  de),  mission  village, 
293,  309. 

Saint  Louis,  Fort,  on  the  Illinois,  86, 
144. 

Saint  Sulpice,  priests  of,  29,  32,  35, 
42. 

Saint- Vallier,  bishop  of  Canada,  116; 
applauds  Denonville,  169,  183,  at 
Quebec,  247;  during  Phips's  attack, 
280,  281;  relations  with  Frontenac, 


INDEX. 


463 


322,  326 ;  excess  of  zeal,  328  ;  re- 
turns to  France,  332. 

Salmon  Falls,  attack  on,  220,  227. 

Schenectady,  destruction  of,  211-216; 
its  effect  in  Canada,  233 ;  on  the  In- 
dians, 252. 

Schuyler,  John,  attacks  La  Prairie, 
257:  carries  the  treaty  of  Ryswickto 
Quebec,  422 ;  Peter,"  mayor  of  Al- 
bany, 198;  leads  an  attack  ;  his 
successful  retreat,  289-293;  in  the 
Mohawk  expedition,  312-314;  con- 
vokes an  Indian  council,  399. 

Seignelay,  son  of  Colbert,  colonial 
minister,  61,  101;  advices  to  Denon- 
ville,  170. 

Senecas,  the  most  powerful  of  the  Iro- 
quois, 74,  76 ;  prepare  for  hostilities, 
97 ;  pass  for  cowards,  100 ;  their 
fortifications,  114;  attack  the  Illinois, 
117;  intrigue  with  the  Hurons,  118; 
Denonville  plans  to  attack  them, 
122,  136;  his  campaign,  149-157; 
they  threaten  Fort  Niagara,  166. 

Subercase,  a  French  officer,  proposes 
to  attack  the  Iroquois,  but  is  over- 
ruled, 178  ;  in  the  Onondaga  expedi- 
tion, 412. 


Talon,  the  intendant,  15 ;  declines  to 
attend  meeting  of  the  estates,  20; 
returns  to  France,  21 ;  hostile  to 
Frontenac  at  the  court,  40. 

Theatricals  at  Quebec,  324-326.  333. 

Thury,  the  priest,  225,  361 ;  persuades 
Taxous,  363,  368;  instigates  hos- 
tilities, 376. 

Tonty  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  144;  at  Fort 
Niagara,  147 ;  in  the  fight  with  the 
Senecas,  150. 

Toronto,  128. 

Torture  practised  by  Indians,  181,  300, 
413  ;  instigated  by  the  French,  305, 
404,  405. 

Troves,  Chevalier  de,  132;  at  Fort 
Niagara,  155. 


u. 

Ursuline  Convent  at  Quebec,  24 ;  dur- 
ing the  attack,  280. 


Vaillant,   the  Jesuit,  negotiates  with 

Dongan,  162. 
Valrenne    destroys     Fort    Frontenac, 

192  ;  sent  to  defend  La  Prairie,  291, 

294. 
Vaudreuil,  Chevalier  de,  in  the  Seneca 

campaign,     151 ;      in     the    defence 

against  the  Iroquois,  169, 179;  in  the 

attack  of  the  Onondagas,  410,  413, 

414. 
Vercheres,  the  heroine  of,  302-308. 
Versailles,  1,  184. 

Viele,  his  mission  to  Onondaga,  93,  98. 
Villebon,    governor   of    Acadia,   347, 

378. 
Villeray,  a  tool  of  the  Jesuits,  47;  at 

Quebec,  247;  his  negotiations  with 

Frontenac,  249. 
Villieu,   commands  the  Indian  allies, 

361;    attacks    Oyster    Ptiver,     365; 

nearly  perishes  in  the    Penobscot, 

364 ;  returns  to  Quebec,  368 ;  takes 

Pemaquid,  381;  is  captured,  385. 


w. 

Waldron  at  Cocheco,  224. 

Walley,    John,   in    command    under 

Phips    at   Quebec,    240;   commands 

the  land  attack.  271 ;  in  camp,  274- 

270;  retreat,  277. 
Weems  at  Pemaquid,  224,  225. 
Wells,  attacked  by  French  and  Abe- 

nakis,  353-355. 
William  III.,  184. 
Winthrop,  commander  at  Albany,  257. 


Y. 

York,  massacre  at,  349-351. 


Cambridge :  Press  of  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
Cummings  School  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
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